


Extra Entertainment

by Khalyda



Category: Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-14 17:18:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 36,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9195821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khalyda/pseuds/Khalyda
Summary: +Takes place a bit before the i.rex is released, going to be a little AU, I've got ideas for a different direction. InGen/Unnamed Company uses something strange that enhances certain bonds, allowing certain people to better understand their bonded dinosaur. InGen isn't the only proficient DNA modifying company.+Claire decides she needs to get something fresh at her park, the newest assets aren't quite ready yet. She looks into entertainment and finds something she wasn't expecting. Owen doesn't quiet know what to do with this new strangeness. Dancing dinosaurs, implied dino/human relationships, may get weird later.Some Chapters will take longer to write, still on going story.





	1. The Beginning

   Claire stared at the video on her computer with confusion and awe. She had it checked for editing, but it came back cleared. This was not what she was expecting when looking through applications for entertainers for her park. Yes she was looking for something new to add, something they didn't have, to help keep guests happy while waiting for crowded viewing stations to clear out, or while they waited in line, but she was expecting normal things. Like people who make cool balloon animals, mimes, and such. Not this. _Not someone who dances with a raptor and a strange light show_. In fact, if she didn't just see it, she wouldn't believe it. While the lights where interesting and she couldn't quite place where each came from, it was the intricacy of the dance that caught her attention. More than once she held her breath, expecting the lady to get chomped or squished, but it never happened. This could be very interesting. If the raptor is as friendly as it appears in the video. She definitely wanted a second opinion. And she knew just the person to get it from.

  
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"Are you really waiting for a call back? I think after everything that had happened before, they'd never consider that." James shook his head as he watched Darla stare at her phone. She was sitting on the floor with a large male raptor half curled around her. A young child was laying sound asleep over the dinosaur's back.  
"So? If they have internet access, then they've probably seen the other videos too. I mean, he comes to work with me. I'm sure there are at least a few videos up. Granted that's the first fully recorded video of a long dance." Darla smiled as she gently rubbed the rapror's side.  
"Mm yeah, true, but even I would think it's crazy if I didn't live with you and watch this craziness all unfold. It's good that the people here aren't running in fear." James chuckled.  
"Hey, we did have to go to the local news station and make sure things didn't get out of hand. And the videos that are out are just some cute things from work. Who doesn't think a dinosaur in a tutu is cute? Or a dinosaur bobbing to the rhythm of a song? Nothing scarey really. Okay maybe the yawning one might be scarey..." Darla flicked through the video list. James shook his head and snapped a quick picture of the trio on the floor with his phone.

  
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"I've seen some dinosaurs bobbing to music before, _but actually dancing along - and that close to a human_ \- is not something normal." Owen looked confused at the video as he paused and replayed it.  
"She's crazier than you. Letting all those teeth and claws move her around. How she got the raptor to do that gently without losing any limbs is impressive." Barry raised his eyebrows briefly.  
"Are you sure it's not an edited video? I mean how would someone even have a raptor? Legally I thought they all belonged to the company here." Owen frowned as he looked up at Claire.  
"Yes and no. There are some wild-ish dinosaurs on a near by island. It's possible an egg could have been found. _Not that it is sane for someone to keep one. In their house. In a regular city._ And since there have been no reports of any violent damage done by this raptor, they'd be no reason for anyone to make a negative fuss about it. Some places have really loose pet laws. No one really expected pet dinosaurs, _yet_ , so there probably isn't anything stable in place. Most sane people wouldn't have a dinosaur in their house. And yes. I've had the video looked at. There are no signs of editing, and there is no coding for computer generated images." Claire sighed.  
"Oh. I've found some, interesting video clips and photos. If you want to see them?" A voice over the hand held chimed in.  
"Interesting? As in pertaining to this or something else?" Claire asked as she pressed the button.  
"Pertaining. Sending them now." The voice chuckled.  
The three people in the room stared at the screen with mixed expressions.  
"I don't have words for that." Claire blinked.  
"Why? How? The girls don't like having anything put on them." Owen shook his head as he looked through the pictures of a raptor in a tutu and a few other silly costumes. The pictures seemed to be taken at a dance studio.  
"It's kind of cute. Odd, but cute. Though the last one is definitely cute if not a bit scary." Barry smiled at the last picture. It showed the raptor laying down in a tree like costume with several small children napping around and over the raptor in their own little bird costumes.  
"That would be entertaining. As long as the raptor is good around people. It seems like it. That is one mellow raptor. I'm curious as to how that came about. Either really good genes or really good training. Even then, that would be difficult." Owen stared in disbelief.  
"I can bring them in and we can at least have an in person evaluation." Claire shooed Owen from the chair and pulled up the application.  
"Maybe she could teach you a trick or two for your raptors." Barry teased with another smile.  
"I don't think the girls are going to want to take dance lessons." Owen replied.

 

 


	2. Dance Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of fun with dancing. Also decided to try out Rufus's point of view for most of the chapter. Sorry if it seems a little slow. I didn't want to rush this one too much.

**Dancing Day**

Rufus looked around at the familiar scenery. The stage had been set in a forest like setting. The small softlings waiting in line on the other side of the stage had strange false skins on. He shuffled his clawed feet as he turned to look at the peculiar false skin the was on him. He looked like some kind of tree with limbs. With a huff he made his way to his spot on the stage. Looked like today was another, what did the soft skins call it? Show. Looked like today they would be performing. He wasn't sure if he should like it, but he didn't hate it. He was pretty sure this wasn't normal. He knew he should be hunting in a forest, not playing with soft skins. But the sounds where catchy and oddly soothing. He couldn't help but move to the strange melodies. After watching the small softlings for a while it wasn't too hard to pick up on some of the odd dances. Granted there was some limitation due to difference in body structure, but he mimicked what he could and improvised else where. It wasn't like dinosaurs didn't have mating dances and other displays for different situations.  
"Rufus!" A familiar voice called out to him. He looked up to see his soft skin alpha. Dancing Alpha looked at him with a smile and he chittered at her. He was glad she trusted him enough to let him wonder the small building. Not everyone seemed to think he deserved that trust. He hadn't done anything to not deserve it so it was strange to him that some soft skins seemed to think he belong in a cage. Besides Dancing Alpha needed all the help she could get with watching all these softlings. She rubbed the side of his head before kissing his nose.  
"Good luck. And have fun!" She smiled at him before heading back to the line of softlings.   
He gave a soft trill. It was funny to see Dancing Alpha in these false skins. They were much different from what she normally used in performances. These seemed brighter and more colorful. Sometimes way more sparkly. If he were to decide which performances he liked, it would be the other kind. The ones without the softlings, the ones where he got to really interact with Dancing Alpha. These were fun, but they didn't carry the same weight. They weren't as intense or intimate. Though he did enjoy the playfulness of the softlings.   
The strange melody began, and the softlings bolted out from behind the curtains. They took their places and the strange dancing began. He bobbed to the rhythm and danced his own peculiar dance among the trees in the background. His Dancing Alpha would occasionally take to the stage not far from him in the background with her own dance. He could recognize some words in the melody. Something about singing mountains, painting winds, some animals and running through the forest.

  
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The parents waited eagerly in the hall for their children as they received their copies of the dance recital. They were specially edited to keep the rapror's presence hidden and off scene. While some parents wanted to be able to see it, they all agreed that they didn't need media cameras all over the place ruining their kids fun. It had taken a while to get all parents ok with the raptor being there to begin with, they could only imagine what the media would do with it.

  
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It was going to be a long day. Not a bad one, just a very long one. Rufus could see it in Dancing Alpha's face. He waited patiently as she took the false skins of him. Once off he shook his body and walked around her in a complete circle. He then followed her to the small room where she kept her other false skins. He watched as she picked out her false skins. He barked when she lifted up a frilly red shirt. He didn't really like that one. Too red. Too frilly.   
"Oh, are you picking my clothes now? Don't like this one? How about this one?" Dancing Alpha laughed and picked up a purple and black corset shirt set. He trilled and pranced around the small room before settling in front of the door. No one was allowed in while Dancing Alpha was changing false skins. Too vulnerable, too soft. He was allowed in because he went everywhere with her. Ever since he was a hatchling there was not a single place they did not go together. She kept him safe when he was small and vulnerable to the world around him, now he would keep her safe.  
He waited until she wasn't looking to snag one of her fancy boots. He hid it behind him and waited.   
"Now where did I put that other boot? I swear they where together right here!" Dancing Alpha folded her arms as she frowned. Rufus chittered and laid down.   
"Do you know where it went? It couldn't have gone far in this tiny room." Dancing Alpha turned to look at him. He chittered again. He wasn't going to give up the boot just yet.   
With a sigh, Dancing Alpha walked around the room looking for the boot. He waited a little longer before huffing. He looked up at her as she walked over.   
"It seems to have vanished. Unless you know where it is...You aren't hiding it are you? "Dancing Alpha smiled as she bent down and pressed her nose to his. He huffed again before rising up high to his full height, revealing the slightly squished boot. He gave a sharp bark. Most people would have backed away in fear, but not Darla. He watched as she shook her head and crawled beneath him to retrieve her boot. He playfully threaten to sit down and caused Dancing Alpha to yelp, in which he replied with a high pitched trill. It was funny to spoke Dancing Alpha, she had become harder to scare, so it was more rewarding now if he was able to do so. Tucking his claws up, he let the rounded back part of his claws gently graze over her back as she crawled back out with the boot. It sent a shiver down his spine.

  
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The car ride to the next place was fairly short. After Dancing Alpha talked to a voice through a strangely lit box, they had gotten into the redesigned vehicle. It was a large van with the back seats repositioned. There was a set of seats in the back along the side rather than in rows. This gave Rufus room to curl up inside. It was still a snug fit. Eventually he wouldn't fit in here.  
They had gone in the back way to this building. He liked going here. This is where they danced together. He followed her through the building. She made a quick stop by a table with an other soft skin who painted Dancing Alpha's face and straightened up her clothes. Then he followed her out onto the stage.   
The melodies where loud and he could feel the rhythm in his bones. The sounds of the outside world and crowded audience where drowned out by its loudness.   
A new melody started, he heard the words, not sure what all of them meant - 'All my friends are heathens, take it slow...'  
The dance began slow and distant, but as the melody picked up, the dancing became closer, and more mixed with gymnastic like moves. She would dance around him, flip or gracefully somersault over him and dance with him. He would bob, weave and sway around her, while being ever so careful to not hurt her.   
What made the dances nice was that they both were able to read each others moves. He could feel her happiness and passion through the dance. It made him all the more happy to play along. The colorful lights danced around them in a fluid motion, as if fueled by the energy of their dance. They added extra life to the dimly lit stage.

  
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"So did I miss anything interesting?" Dancing Alpha asked as she walked into the living room with Rufus not far behind.   
"Actually you did. They called you today. They want another video, one that shows Rufus interacting with other people." Practical Alpha replied. Dancing Alpha's mate had always be the voice of reason, so to him, he was quite practical. He liked that Practical Alpha kept thing in order and kept Bouncy Softling in line. Bouncy Softling was fun to play with, but like a hatchling, she didn't always know when to stop. Practical Alpha fixed that and kept up with it.   
"Oh dang it. Well I've got one from earlier today. With the kids at the dance recital. I get to keep some of the raw footage before it gets edited for the parents." Dancing Alpha smiled and takes out a small item. She throws it to Practical Alpha, who catches it and sticks it in the thin metal foldy box.

  
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"Rufus. Get over here. You have to brush your teeth. Do you want them to rot and fall out?" Dancing Alpha spoke firmly while waving the bristled stick. He growled walking further away down the hall. He did not like that thing in his mouth. It was prickly and tasted terrible.   
"Rufus. I will not ask again. Look! Lottie is doing it all by her self. Like a big girl. You are acting like a baby. Do I need to come get you and hold you like a baby?" Dancing Alpha called out again. He barked loudly and sat in the middle of the end of the hall. Maybe she should just come over and hold him. He wasn't a baby any more, so how exactly was she going to hold him? What an empty threat. He huffed as he heard for steps approaching. With a yowl he put his nose to the floor. He wasn't going to budge. Nope. Not moving. He felt warm hands run over his scales along his neck. Nope. Not moving. The hands made warm circles over his head. Nope. Still not moving.   
"Fine. You can sleep out here. I'm not letting stinky breath in bed." Dancing Alpha shook her head and walked away. He huffed. Surely she didn't mean that. They always shared the big soft nest. He watched as she led Boucy Softling to her own room. Then he watched as Dancing Alpha and Practical Alpha went to their own room. And closed the door. And didn't come back out. No way. It's not possible. He whined and stood up. He was not sleeping on this hard ground. He really liked the big soft nest.   
Carefully he pushed the handle and opened the door. He spotted the two Alphas laying comfortably under the nest covers. With a soft whine he trotted over to the bed and nuzzled Dancing Alpha.  
"Gotcha!" She threw am arm up over his head and pulled the tooth brush out. He growled but pend his mouth. Once done, she scooted over and he plopped into his spot in the big bed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a side note, the auto complete on my phone is crazy and if it had its way this story would be going in a rather messed up direction. On more than one occasion had to stop, try not to laugh...or cry...and fix it.  
> At one point it tried to slip in the word rape-there will be none of that here thank you. If you want, for a little fun, I can post writing bloopers at the end, where auto fill messed up? Hope you all liked it! Thank you for reading!


	3. Trip Time!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little more home life fluff. They finally make their way to Jurassic World.

"You know, I don't know if this counts as cute or creepy." Owen motioned to the video on screen. The raptor was dancing among the trees in the background of the kids recidal. He was dressed like a tree.  
"Strangely cute." Claire smiled. It was strange, but the raptor seemed content to just be there.  
"The raptor is very calm with all the commotion going on. That's different. Usually all that kind of movement simulates their instinct to hunt. The mere sight of all that movement should be enough to trigger that. That is one very laid back raptor." Owen watched in disbelief. After the curtains closed the video showed from a side angle each of the kids walking up to the raptor to give it a hug. Both Claire and Owen held their breathes, waiting for an accident that never came. After the last kid left, the camera caught a brief moment of the raptor looking directly at the camera with a squinty glare before it turned and trotted off stage. The video ended. They both let out a breath of relief.  
"Well the raptor didn't maul anyone, nor did it seem bothered by human contact. It seems calm enough to be worth checking out in person. You up for an up close and personal inspection?" Claire looked over at Owen.  
"Yes ma'am." Owen responded with a nod.

  
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It was early, on a weekend, no one wanted to wake up. There was no reason to be up on a day that everyone had off. But the phone didn't care.  
***Ring* *Ringl***  
"Uhhhhhhhhh" Darla groaned as she rolled over in bed, with one of her legs over James' legs and an arm half on Rufus. James was curled slightly on his side, snuggled close to Darla. And Rufus was laying straight next to Darla. It was a nice big California King bed held up on a cement base so it could support the weight of the growing raptor who refused to sleep in his own space. The mattress was also special made to be tare resistant.  
***Ring* *Ring** *  
Even James' snoring couldn't drown out this sound. Rufus huffed and shifted in the bed. He pressed his snout to Darla's side. No one wanted to get up. But this sound was annoying. And it wasn't easy to ignore.  
***Ring* *Ring***  
Rufus growled as he pulled all the blankets off the bed while getting up.  
"Hey!" Darla yelped, glaring over in the direction of the flying blankets. James snored lightly and turned the other way, still asleep.  
Rufus retrieved the horrible noise making box and dropped it in the bed as it rang again. He looked down at it then back to Darla.  
"Ok. Ok. I'll answer it. Uh. It is too early for this shit...Hello?" Darla yawned as she answered the phone. James turned back toward her and wrapped an arm around her waist.  
"Mmmhm...Oh. Um, yes, sure! It's ok. Yes, that would be great! Thank you. Of course. No, no he really hasn't ever left my side. Yup. He'd have to. Hahaha, no, but it should be fine. I'll definitely have to get a picture. Thank you. Look forward to it. See you...tomorrow evening. You too, bye." Darla hung up the phone as Rufus climbed back into the bed with all the blankets. He chittered softly and then laid his head in her lap. Darla pulled the blankets back around the bed.  
"Pft. You took all the blankets and now you want snuggles?" Darla chuckled as she rubbed the top of his head. She looked over at the clock. It was 6am. Early. Just too early. Rufus purred and leaned into her hand. She looked down at the raptor's head in her lap. She counted herself lucky. Any other raptor having their head this close would normally be the end of someone's life. Rufus was not like the raptors depicted in the books or the ones they showed from Jarrasic Park. He had his fun hunting the foods they brought home for him, but he showed no interest in hunting humans. He did like shocking humans, he showed interest in their reactions. She wasn't sure what brought out this different kind of behavior, perhaps it was because he was constantly around people and grew up with a human child. Not long after there was a soft knock on the door.  
"Come in." Darla looked up and watched as Lottie skipped into the room. The little girl climbed up into the bed and snuggled between the raptor and her dad. Rufus chittered as he lifted his head to nuzzle the little girl next to him.  
"So guess what?" Darla poked James. He groaned in response as he opened his eyes.  
"Mmm?" James yawned and sat up slowly.  
"I got the phone call. We're leaving tomorrow afternoon. You two should be ok for a week, yeah?" Darla bounced on the bed.  
"You're going for a week? Eeh, we should be fine. But Lottie is going to miss you guys like crazy. I will too. Are you going to be ok? That place is huge. And full of dinosaurs that are not super people friendly." James playfully pushed Darla.  
"Well I will have Rufus with me. Everything should be fine. Though the trip to the airport is going to be crazy!" Darla laughed. Rufus looked up at the two playful adults and huffed. He wondered why they mentioned his name.

  
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It just a minute after noon on Sunday that the large black van pulled up in front of their house. Darla had received an email with instructions and tickets earlier that morning. Lottie had spent the morning following her mother around the house and hugging her periodically. She wasn't happy about her mother leaving, but she had school to attend and she wasn't going to be messing up her perfect attendance.  
"Promise to skype me every day?" Lottie hugged her mother again.  
"Yes! I will. And I'll text when I get to the airport and after I land. Be good, ok? And take care of your daddy." Darla hugged her back.  
"Skype once you get settled in tonight, so we know you're ok." James pulled Darla close for a kiss and then purposely messed her hair.  
"Hey! Stop messing my hair." Darla grabbed her suitcase as she pulled away.  
"You know you like it." James smiled and handed her the small carry on bag. She threw it over her shoulder. Lottie planted a big wet kiss on Rufus's side. He responded with a high pitched trill and nuzzled the little girl's chest.  
"Be good Rufus. Take care of mommy." Lottie hugged Rufus. He huffed once she let go and followed Darla to the door. This was going to be interesting.  
€£€€£€£€€£€£€£  
The ride there was pretty uneventful. It was the getting out of the van and into the airport that was going to be fun. The people in the smaller city were fine with the raptor's presence, but there would be a lot of panic if someone saw him here. Basically there where to stay in the van, a TSA would come out and perform the safety search, provide clearance and get their luggage on board. The hard part was boarding the plane. Even though they were going last and had a special section curtained off, they still had to get up the stairs unseen.

  
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A little boy sat bored in the airport chair. His feet swung as he stared out the large glass window. He tilted his head to the side as he watched as a stair case was wheeled to a door on the other side of the plane. A black van pulled up followed by a security car. He couldn't see much after the TSA officer walked over to the van and disappeared inside. It seemed like forever before anyone stepped out. Finally the TSA officer stepped out holding a large poster like sheet. It blocked most of the view of who ever was getting out of the van. For a brief moment it looked like some kind of tail flicked past the side of the poster paper wall. The little boy blinked.  
"Mom! Dad! There's a creature getting on the plane!" The little boy yelped to his parents. The adults snorted and glanced briefly out the large window. The van and security can where driving off and the stairs where being moved away from the plane.  
"Sure you did. No more candy for you today." The mother shrugged as she looked back down at her book.

  
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Rufus huffed and nudged Dancing Alpha. She was being very quiet and smelled nervous. He hadn't seen her like this in a long time.  
"I'm fine. I'm fine. I just don't know how you're going to do once the plane takes off...we're going high up in the sky." Dancing Alpha made a strange motion with her hands. Like a flying creature taking off. Were they in the belly of a flying creature? Is that what this big thing was? Rufus looked around and noticed the view hole to the outside. He looked back at Dancing Alpha in her seat. It wasn't until the big bird rumbled and shook that Rufus let out a low growl. He did not like this constant rumbling below his feet.  
"Brace yourself Rufus. The plane is going to take off soon. It'll be ok. I'm right here if you get scared." Dancing Alpha placed her hand on his side. He nuzzled her cheek and waited. A mysterious voice talked for a few moments before the rumbling grew louder and the...plane? That's what Dancing Alpha called it, lurched forward. Rufus smooshed his head into Dancing Alpha's shoulder. She replied by rubbing his neck. He lowered himself to the floor as the plane angled itself upward. He let out a soft whine.  
"It's ok. It gets better. Hey. Look! You can see the clouds. And some of the ground. Tiny houses and cars!" Dancing Alpha motioned to the viewing hole. Rufus grumbled as he turned his head to look. The plane was turning but was now at a straighter angle. What a strange view. The white fluffy things where right outside, so close he could touch them if there wasn't a viewing box in the way. And between the white fluffy things were tiny moving boxes and still boxes. They looked just like the big ones he had seen outside, but these were super tiny. And the trees...they were so small! He could just pluck them up. He kind of wanted to, but again, the viewing box was in the way. He huffed and leaned closer to the viewing box. The view was amazing.

  
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Getting of the plane was much easier. They were the last to get off. And the plane pulled forward to a different location to let them out. There they got into another van, which would bring them aboard the ferry.

  
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Rufus rubbed himself against Dancing Alpha, who was sitting with him in the back of the van. The rocking motion from the ferry had made Rufus woozy. Even though they were now on solid stable ground he was having a hard time standing.  
"You'll be ok. I'm right here." Dancing Alpha hugged him and then patted his side. He stayed close until the van slowed down. The ride became bumpy and slow. Rufus looked up at Dancing Alpha and chittered. He wanted to know why it changed again. Dancing Alpha just smiled and rubbed his neck. He huffed and nuzzled into her stomach. He was not liking all this traveling. There best be a good snack after all this is done. This was not fun.

  
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***Ring* *Ring***  
"Hello?" Owen answered his phone as he heard back to his room.  
"I'm going to be late. Something small came up. Do you think you can stall for a little bit?" Claire asked.  
"Yes ma'am. Where are they being dropped off?" Owen asked, holding the phone between his head and shoulder so he could get his boots on.  
"Well, I figured it would be safest away from people-" Claire began to explain.  
"Here? By the paddock with more raptors in it?!? That might not be a very good idea!" Owen yelled in surprise. His rambling was cut short as the sound of a heavy vehicle pulling up caught his attention.  
"See you soon." Claire responded and hung up the phone. Owen put down his phone and headed outside.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! Feel free to comment. I know it's a bit slow, but it will pick up later on.


	4. Let's get this party started

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. The story was slow to get going, but once I started writing I couldn't stop. And it took a little bit to figure what song I wanted the first performance to be done to.  
> The performance at the end of this chapter is done to this song: https://youtu.be/pfWhtLlioS8  
> (PORTAL By Hoop town Hotties)  
> As always thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the chapter! And thank you to nickell47 for the kudos!

Chapter 4

 

  
The van lurched to a stop getting a yelp of surprise from both Darla and Rufus. Rufus growled when the door opened. He wanted out, but he wanted to voice his displeasure of the ride in this big metal box.  
"Geeze what was that for? Was it really necessary to slam on the breaks?" Darla complained as she stood up and stepped out of the van.  
"We're here. The roads are rougher off the main roads. I'll be inside if you need me. " The driver shrugged and returned to the front of the van.  
She looked around and felt her anger melt. The refreshing sight of the lush forest around the area pushed away the feeling of anger and replaced it with peace. Dammit why did nature feel so good? It was hard to be mad with all this peaceful jungle around. She turned toward the sound of hurried foot steps.  
"Is there any way we can go further up the road? I don't want to upset the girls with the presence of another raptor. They already seem bothered, and I really don't want to further upset them." Owen began as he approached the van. His girls were already pacing by the main entrance, stopping every few moments to sniff the air. There were a few sharp calls among them.  
"Honestly I had no idea where I was being taken. Hell I could have walked right into a human trafficking van with how trusting I've been today." Darla chuckled as Rufus slowly stepped out, still trying to regain his land legs. He stretched out his body before letting out a low growl that caught both their attentions. The small smile that Owen had turned to a frown. There was a loud bark from the raptor paddock and a just as loud response from Rufus. He stood to his full height, sniffing loudly. Owen looked back to the paddock to make sure the girls where behaving.  
"Hey. It's ok. The bumpy ride is over. Let's get back in the van and we can stretch our legs after?" Darla turned back to Rufus and patted his side. He poked his nose at her side and sniffed her pocket. He really wanted a snack. With a knowing smile she opened her pocket and pulled out a piece of jerky. He gracefully nipped it from her hand and munched it down. Then he turned and hissed at the van. He was not going back in there.  
"I'm Darla. This is Rufus.And it looks like he isn't too interested in getting back into the van..." She smiled, tiled her head toward Rufus and then held out her hand. Owen briefly shook her hand.  
"Owen Grady. Maybe -" Owen started to suggest something, but Rufus chose that very moment to trot past them both toward the paddock.  
"Rufus!" Darla exclaimed as she followed him. He showed no interest and kept walking.  
"Or you can all just make yourselves at home and head on over to the dangerous raptor paddock." Owen groaned as he turned to follow. This was not what he had in mind for an evaluation.  
Rufus stopped at the paddock bars and chittered loudly. His sounds where meet with warning barks and interested chitters. Four pairs of sharp intelligent eyes stared back at him from inside. For a moment there was complete silence. Both Darla and Owen had stopped a few feet away. The silence was broken by a chaos of chitters, barks, hisses, growls, and whoops. During which various displays of body language were made. Some posturing seemed aggressive, but nothing provoked full on fighting behavior. In fact the chaos ended with a series of peculiar bobs and low growls. Blue remained by the door as the other girls backed away a short distance. Rufus huffed and bowed low briefly. Blue responded with a trill before turning and trotting off to the other girls. Rufus turned back toward the humans. He looked back to the paddock before walking over to Darla.  
"Guess he wanted to introducing himself. Sorry he usually doesn't run off." Darla shook her head.  
"He? Well...that could explain that their interactions. Why don't we go inside? Claire should be here soon." Owen motioned to the small building behind them. He would be sure to talk with Claire about that later. He led the way as the other two followed.  
"Have a seat." Owen motioned to the small couch as they all stepped inside the small building.  
"Thanks." Darla sat down at the end of the couch. Rufus titled his head and looked around the room. With a huff he carefully made his way closer to Darla and sat by her on the floor.  
"Did he actually understand what I said?" Owen looked at the Raptor with surprise.  
"Partially, he noticed I sat down after you motioned this way. He's visited a couple of places, so he knows a little bit of the routine. I don't know exactly how much in terms of word definition that he understands, but he does connect the reaction to the actions and words. He does know how to retrieve several things, as well as some commands. He's been around a lot of people, kids too, so he has had a lot of watch and learn lessons and experiences. I know raptors are very intelligent." Darla explained as she reached over and scratched Rufus's neck. Rufus leaned closer and chittered.  
"They are. Mind if I ask where you got him?" Owen took a seat in the chair.  
"He was a gift. Got him as an egg." Darla spoke quietly. Owen raised his eyebrows.  
"Who just gives away raptor eggs? Did you even know what you were getting?" Owen asked.  
"Actually, yes. It was a gift in the form of a favor. I really can't go into detail. It was part of the deal." Darla looked at Owen briefly before looking back at Rufus.  
"That's always fun. So, um, he's been around a lot of people? Has he ever been around other dinosaurs?" Owen asked while sneaking a look at the clock. Claire was really late now. Hopefully she was ok.  
"People yes. He accompanies me pretty much everywhere. I actually work at a dance studio. I've always taken him with me there. It was really cute when he was little. But dinosaurs, nope. Today would have been his first interaction. There really aren't any dinosaurs on the main land." Darla chuckled. Rufus yawned and laid his head in Darla's lap.  
"I've never seen a raptor that was so laid back. It's not normal to their natural behavior. Cunning, intelligent pack hunters don't normally lay around lazily with people." Owen watched the two interact. It was definitely weird. Maybe there was something off in the dna coding? If he wasn't one of Dr.Wu's creations, they might actually be able to have some one here at the lab look into it. If it wasn't complete encoded.  
"I'd say it's because he never was around dinosaurs, but that would be way too simple of an answer..."Darla responded.  
"Yeah, instinct doesn't go away that fast - no matter what dna mix he has." Owen agreed. He looked at the door, waiting for Claire to arrive.  
"Maybe it's just a genetic fluke. Well whatever the reason, I'm thankful. So when do I get to talk to someone about my job application?" Darla asked. Owen flinched. That wasn't his part of this meeting.  
"She is on her way. Claire should be here any minute now." Owen replied. And as if summoned by asking, the sound of a vehicle pulling up echoed lightly in the background. They both waited in silence, until there was a knock on the door. Owen got up and headed to the door to open it.  
"Sorry I'm late. There was a last minute call that needed my attention. How are things going?" Claire asked as she stepped inside. She paused briefly as her gaze stopped on the raptor sitting on the floor with its head in Darla's lap. Catching her gaze, Darla smiled.  
"Don't worry, he's people friendly. For the most part. Though we might need to do something soon about food." Darla continued to scratch Rufus's head. Claire made her way to sit in the chair.  
"This won't take too long. I just need to know if your raptor will be safe enough to be around crowds." Claire nodded as she sat down and looked at Owen, who had followed and stood beside the chair.  
"He doesn't seem the least bit interested in any one here but Darla. He did decide to just go and greet my girls though." Owen sighed.  
"How did that go?" Claire asked as she pulled a few papers from her briefcase.  
"Not terrible. Just noisy." Owen replied as he folded his arms. Darla leaned over Rufus's head and smiled.  
"Why don't you go introduce yourself?" Darla leaned back as she motioned to Claire. The raptor stood up and slowly made his way around the table toward Claire. Owen put his hand on Claire's shoulder. Claire briefly held her breath. The raptor stopped in front of her, well as front as he could get in the small space. He bowed and made a soft trill before standing back up. He waited tilting his head to the side.  
"Hello."Claire responded letting out her breath, which seemed to satisfy Rufus. He trilled again as he made his way back to Darla.  
"Thank you Rufus." Darla rubbed his snout. Claire placed the paperwork on the table between them.  
"I would like to give this...entertainment style a try. There are a few things for you to read and sign. A trial period first, then we can work out the details if everything goes well. How does that sound?" Claire explained as she watched the raptor peer at the papers as Darla picked them up. He sniffed the back of them while Darla read them.  
"Sounds fair enough. What would work better for you, a set stage performance with a schedule or a wandering performance periodically across the park? It doesn't matter to me or Rufus." Darla asked as she finished reading the last page. Rufus watched Darla for a moment, the turned his head to look around the room. Owen waited quietly, watching Rufus periodically.  
"We don't have an open stage at the moment. Wandering entertainment while people are waiting in lines would work just fine. I'll have some advertising done so people don't freak out about a loose raptor in the park." Claire replied and handed Darla a pen. Darla took the pen and signed the documents. She handed the papers and pen back to Claire. Rufus tilted his head while watching the exchange.  
"Sweet. I've got an awesome idea for the first show. Though it will need to be dark." Darla smiled as Rufus turned and nuzzled her pocket. She pulled out another piece of jerky and let him take it from her hand. Owen cringed.  
"Ok, I'll have my assistant send you some maps of different high traffic areas. You'll have the rest of today to plan your first wandering act. Once you've got it together, send me a synopsis. Now why don't we get you both settled in. Owen do mind sparing some food for the raptor before we go?" Claire asked as she put the paper work and pen away.  
"I don't suppose the girls would be too upset about it. A full raptor is a more coperative raptor. If you don't mind following me, we can get Rufus fed." Owen nodded as he made his way to the door and held it open.  
"I'll meet you out at the road once you're done." Claire stated as stood up and made her way out. She gave Owen a nod and walked out to her car. She waited by the car door. Rufus followed Darla to the door. After she walked out, he stopped to sniff at Owen, before continuing to follow Darla. Owen sighed as he closed the door. He made his way past the two over to a container on the side of the paddock. Rufus sniffed the air, trotted past Darla, turned his head back to look at her and wuffled. He resumed his trot toward Owen.  
"I know you're hungry. Yes he is getting food. No. No, don't run ahead and give the guy a heart attack!" Darla exclaimed while waving her hands. She had to jog to catch up to the raptor who had already stopped just behind Owen.  
"Woah. Hold on there. Here, this one is for you. These are for the girls." Owen tossed a large meaty thigh bone to Rufus, who caught it and thusly began to eat.  
"Thanks he really hasn't had much since before the flight. Didn't really want to try and squeeze a raptor into a tiny plane bathroom." Darla smiled politely and followed Owen, who chuckled at the terrible idea.  
"So what are their names?" Darla asked as Owen prepared to feed the raptors.  
"That's Blue. That's Charlie. This is Delta. And this is Echo. All very lovely ladies." Owen explained as he tossed each respective raptor their food.  
"Very. Well Rufus should be done, and we've got a lot to plan. Thanks again." Darla smiled and bowed shortly before heading back to Rufus.  
"You're welcome." Owen replied as he continued to care for his raptors.

  
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Getting Rufus back into the van was nothing short of a miracle. Even from where Owen was standing he could hear the commotion. Woops and yelps of distress from Rufus had caused the other raptors to respond more than once. (In which Owen had to stop and calm the girls down.) It took a solid twenty minutes of coaxing and bribing to get Rufus in the van. The look of betrayal on Rufus's face was a Mastercard priceless moment. Once in, Claire handed Darla a key card, and explained that the driver would take them to their temporary residence, as she had more meetings to attend. To show his displeasure he whined the whole ride. No amount of petting or scratching would silence him.  
They arrived at one of the smaller hotels that were set up like private town homes. There would be less for traffic here and less commotion about a loose raptor. They would be staying here until the trial period was over. If things turned out good, they would have the option of a more permanent location.  
"Well, let's check it out?" Darla asked as she slid the key card and opened the door. Rufus tilted his head and then followed her in. Not even a moment after she closed the door Rufus trilled loudly and took off through the townhouse.  
"Oh no you don't! I get first pick on choosing the best bed side!" Darla exclaimed as she made her way upstairs. It only took a moment for Rufus top figure where she was heading. He easily slipped past her up the stairs and stood in the upper hall. After making eye contact with Darla as she made it to the top step, Rufus whooped and then dashed into one of the rooms. There was a cacophony of sounds nota moment after he entered the room. Darla sighed with a smile and followed him. Upon looking into the room, Darla couldn't help but laugh out loud. Rufus had found the bathroom, and was tangled up in the shower curtain, a few towels and somehow the floor rug had ended up over his head while he lay half in the large tub.  
"Well you could use a bath. Do you want some help?" Darla smiled as she walked over and pulled the rug off his head. Rufus huffed before trying to stand while Darla untangled him.  
"I'm going to have to fix these later." Darla put the rest of the bathroom items aside. Rufus chittered as he sprung up and trotted or of the room.  
"Still trying to find the bedroom?" Darla shook her head and followed him out. He quickly disappeared through an other doorway. There was a brief crash, a sneeze and a whine before Rufus backed out of the doorway and trotted into the next open door.  
"Found the closet." Darla chuckled and closed the door of the now disheveled closet. A victorious whoop marked Rufus's triumph in finding the room with the bed. Darla made her way into the bedroom and shook her head again.  
"Don't you do it." Darla warned the raptor who had one foot up on the bed. He chittered before putting pressure on the mattress.  
"Rufus. I don't know if these beds are made for dinosaur weights." Darla made her way closer. Rufus turned to Darla with a growl, stepping off the bed. Just as Darla went to pat him for listening, he turned and jumped onto the bed. The bed creaked under his weight as he turned a few times and settled down in the center. Darla let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.  
"Well then...Oh no! There's a raptor in my bed!" Darla exclaimed playfully before diving into the bed and tackling the raptor. Rufus trilled before partially rolling over, and forcing Darla to fall off his back. With a rumbling growl Rufus turned back and pinned Darla with his snout.  
"Oh really? What about my arms? Giant pillow attack!" Darla yelled as she said a pillow at him. Rufus yelped and batted the pillow off the bed. Several rounds of toss the pillows and playful tackling ensued until there was loud banging on the downstairs door. Both froze in place for a moment before the banging continued. Darla ran out of the room followed by Rufus, who speed momentarily at the top of the stairs.  
"Yes?" She called through the closed door.  
"Is everything OK? There was screaming and dinosaur noises reported. This is park security, mind if you open up the door so we can confirm you are ok?"  
"Uhhhhhhhhh... I'm ok. Um.." Darla paused for a moment before she slowly cracked the door open.  
"If everything is fine, please keep the noise down -" The security man pushed the door open a little more, just in time to watch a raptor slide down the stairs and skid to a stop just by Darla's legs. The man turned whiter than a bleached sheet.  
"Oh this is Rufus. We're the new entertainment at the park. That was probably what the dinosaur noises were. It's all good in here. Thanks for checking. We will keep the noise down." Darla smiled and closed the door.

  
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A very confused and moderately terrified security man stood outside the door for a few minutes. Once the sound of thuding footsteps faded away from the door the man turned to leave. A loud whoop caused him to shudder and walk quicker away from the townhouse hotel.

  
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Darla held her phone by her ear and waited as the other end rang. She paced back and forth in the living room while Rufus sat comfortably in the middle of the room.  
"Hey! How are you guys? Yeah. It was a long ride. Nothing crazy, yet. Mmm, no. Well its more of a trial thing right now. But um, it might end up full time. I don't know yet. Starting tomorrow evening. Aw. Miss you both too. We will. Yeah, still need to figure where to get food for Rufus. No he did good. Doing well so far. I know. I know. Love you to. Aw yeah. You to. Love you bunches. We will. Mmhm..bye!" Darla sighed as she hung up the phone. Rufus wuffled and nuzzled his snout into Darla's chest.  
"Aw they'll be fine. I'm fine. And yes they miss you too." He trilled and stood back.  
"Let's get some practice in? Then we can unpack and check emails. Maybe the will be something about meals for you in there." Darla smiled and initiated the practice dance.

  
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"I think we've found someone crazier than you." Lowery turned in his chair as Owen walked into the control room.  
"Maybe. Though she only has one raptor." Owen replied with a chuckle. He had been asked to stop by and help out with monitoring the new arrivals and offer any input.  
"Will you haven't seen this yet. How long has it been since you've done this woth your girls?" Lowery pointed to his monitor and played a video. It showed, what could be seen from the window, the crazy pillow-tackle fight that Rufus and Darla had.  
"You were watching them through the window? Isn't that peeping?" Owen replied with shock.  
"It would be, if we weren't asked to keep an eye on them. There's nothing in the house, and they can close the blinds." Vivian replied.  
"And you avoided the question." Lowery stated as he turned the video back to live feed. Owen sighed. This was not supposed to be a who's crazier match. With raptors...that could get dangerous.  
"Before they were eight months old. Though I have let them in the bungalow recently. So, nothing out of the ordinary then?" Owen asked with a sigh.  
"Nothing much really. They actually turned off all the lights and closed the blinds not they long after...Though that's different. I don't think that house has laser lights..." Vivian motioned back to the screen where brightly colored globes of light shined against the blinds. Again all three stopped to watch the strangeness on the screen.

  
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After setting her closed laptop on the desk by the bed, Darla smiled and leaned back in the bed.  
"Well that's cool. They'll send a delivery every couple of days to fill the large freezer in the kitchen with meats for you. And it seems like a go for tomorrow evenings performance. This is going to be fun. Remember there is no eating people or dinosaurs here. Okay? You're doing great now, let's keep it that way." Darla scratched Rufus's head. He trilled before scooting closer. Darla pulled the blanket up and curled up in the blankety softness. Rufus snuggled in even closer laying his back toward her, careful with his claws.  
"You are too sweet. If I didn't have the paperwork on you, I wouldn't believe you are a raptor. Even if you look like one. You sure don't act like one. But I'm glad you don't. I'd rather snuggle than be your next meal." Darla turned and snuggled into his back. Rufus wuffled before sighing.

  
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"Shhhhh. Just stay in here ok? It won't take me more than like five minutes to set this up. If that." Darla whispered to Rufus. She had managed to get ahold of a long shuttle cart, and curtained it off in a way that no one would see Rufus. Rufus huffed as she stepped out and began setting up the 'dark box'. Even if the sun had completely set, it silent be dark enough for this surprising performance. Basically the dark box created a cuboid area of darkness. People would only be able to see what was intentionally illuminated, such as glow paint or glow sticks, in a full 360 view around the area within. This gave Darla and Rufus full motion of performance without crowd interruption. Darla had a long jacket on, hiding her performance clothing. She had Rufus already painted up for the show. He was painted in a way that no one would tell what he was. She set the dark box up right behind the cart so Rufus could step out unseen. Once he was out, she moved the cart away. With one final round around the dark box, she set the speakers up. Already people were stopping to see what would happen. She smiled and waved before stepping into the dark box. She tosses the jacket or. Their bodies have rings painted on them in a way that doesn't give away the shape of their physical forms.  
As the music began their footsteps created colorfull ripples through the dark ground as though they were walking through water. As they passed each other in the darkness the intertwining ripples changed colors. As the story began spiraling glowing rings appeared. Rufus balanced his on his snout and tail, passing them up and down his body as he slowly walked and turned. Darla whirls hers around her arms, spinning and twisting them before turning. The colors of the floor step ripples match the emotions mentioned in the song. They passed the rings to each other, each ring its own color. Each resumed the gracefull waving and spinning of the rings until the songs pace changed. Just as the tone changed they toss the rings to the center having them collide and explode into tiny spheres that float in air. It then became a dance of acrobatics mixed with the rings and spheres. Their painted bodies moved fluidly through the darkness like one giant being. The rings are used throughout the dance to create beautifull glowing imagery for the story. The spheres twisted, turned and floated all around them in time to the music. When the music became sharper the spheres vibrated and changed shape into gear like objects.  
"It doesn't matter if a cave has been in darkness for ten thousand years or half an hour, once you light a match, it is illuminated..." The dark box went transparent, and all the rings and spheres disappeared. Darla and Rufus took a bow, leaving the crowd in awe and confusion. For a solid minute there is nothing but silence and the background sound of nature.  
"Wow that was cool!"  
"Is that a real raptor?"  
"I saw something on the event brochure today about this, but I didn't think it would be that cool!"  
The crowd became alive with questions and clapping. Darla did her best to answer what she could, while keeping Rufus a safe distance from the growing crowd.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little dip into some back story. The raptors get to know each other. And Darla gets to go on a tour.   
> The song Darla sings is Chrome by VnV Nation.

Chapter 5

 

-Strange visitors.- Blue tilted her head as she watched Owen finish clearing out the corner. Her thoughts held hints of curiosity. The rest of the girls were happily napping in the afternoon sun. The day had started out like usual - early run, some breakfast, and morning training before a nice afternoon snack and rest.

"Yeah. They are definitely strange. Way too calm around each other to be normal." Owen spoke and thought as he turned around and hung up the last of the items. 

-Bonded?- Blue chittered before stepping forward to inspect what Owen was doing. She had a few questions, but she wasn't in a rush to ask them all. 

"That would be my best guess. There's really no other way they could interact like that without something going horribly wrong at some point. Though how, is something else all together." Owen agreed as he continued to tidy up the rest of the tools.

It had been a surprise to him when he first realized the bond connection. He hadn't expected his charges to be able to communicate through this emotional thought wave of sorts. Since no one else seemed to mention or even hint to anything like that, it seemed likely that this was a new modification, perhaps to help with training the raptors. Something had been done to amplify normal bonds beyond the usual imprinting.

-Small pack...just a pair...odd.- Blue thought while nosing through a pile of old clothes. Nothing of interest in there. She looked up and waited. 

"Seems like it. If it is bigger he's probably the only dinosaur in his pack." Owen chuckled as he closed a cabinet. Blue huffed at the idea, Alpha Owen was the only human in their pack, so why not the other way around? 

-Why no other male raptors here?- Blue thought, causing Owen to visibility cringe. He was not ready for that talk. 

"It's uh... It's just the way they made the park. Alright let's get going. We've got a lot of training to finish up on." Owen changed the subject and led the way out of the tool shed. Blue huffed again, not satisfied with the answer, as she followed him out.

  
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It had been a long day. There had been some new rules put in place today concerning the free roaming raptor. While he was allowed on the paths, he wasn't allowed in the buildings, or overly crowded areas, except for their hotel townhouse, unless special permissions were granted. He had to wear a vest as well as a tracking bracelet while out and about.

Darla sat at a table outside of one of the eateries, munching on a grilled salmon. Rufus sat next her, enjoying a large beefy covered bone. He still had on his work vest, which had 'Entertainment raptor, cleared to roam'. Darla closed her eyes and listened for Rufus's quiet thoughts.

He seemed very content with his food, though there was some curiosity in regards to her food. She wondered if anyone else had this kind of connection with the dinosaurs they worked with. It had been a peculiar thing to add into the contract, so maybe not. It was the next part of the contract that she was worried about. It was almost time. Maybe a month or so from now. Darla shook her head before smiling and held a fork full of salmon out to Rufus. With a trill, he gracefully bit the fish off the fork. 

"They don't allow dinosaurs in the restaurants?" Owen chuckled as he walked over to the table. Might as well get some answers. 

"Nope. Not even entertainment raptors....even though we are in a park full of dinosaurs." Darla smirked and pushed out a chair with her foot. 

"Hey at least he doesn't have to wear a muzzle. Though that vest is a horrible fashion crime." Owen sat down after motioning to the vest. Rufus huffed and flipped the bone over. Darla shook her head.

"They thought about it. But it really would hinder the shows." Darla replied as she continued to eat. 

"How do you keep him in check all the time? I haven't seen you user any of the usual hand cues or typical training methods. I know raptors are intelligent, but it's not like they completely understand human language." Owen casually asked.

"Well its hard to really explain. It's not really all words... You can attribute his calmer behavior around people to growing up with a human infant. I mean he's like 6 months younger than my daughter." Darla motioned with her fork as she talked. Owen nodded his head. He had a feeling he knew what she what meant. 

"More like knowing and feeling than words?" Owen asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. It works between him and I, and I think a little bit between him and my daughter. Or he just seems to know her well enough. Not sure if it works between him and my husband though." Darla continued before finishing up her meal. She passed a few more pieces to Rufus, who seemed pleased with the small snacks, and the plate was emptied. 

"You raised a raptor along side a child? That must have been...fun and dangerous." Owen questioned with a curious look. 

"Yeah those were some interesting days. It was kind of crazy sometimes. I mean I didn't stick them both in the same carry sling, or make them sleep in the same crib-that would have ended horribly. But taking care of two screaming mouths, that was a task and a half. I no longer envy people who have twins. But it did help with teaching Rufus how to behave. He likes to please. And he likes attention. Can't fully suppress natural predator instincts, but you can guide them in more proactive directions. Since raptors grow so fast, he ended up more like a protective older sibling. It was pretty funny when he was smaller, he would growl at anyone who got too close to Lottie's stroller. And there was a place for him to hunt when he got older. So that helped a lot too. So what about you? You've got four, that has to be fun." Darla explained and then sipped her drink. Rufus crunched loudly on the now bare bone. 

"Raised all four of my ladies. It has been a journey. It's a lot of work to keep four raptors in line. Even with training and a bit of understanding. They're good around me, but it isn't as clear cut all the time with other people. Predator instinct and curiosity are pretty strong, especially with a full pack." Owen shared, occasionally looking over at Rufus. 

-I want to see the girls again- Rufus trilled and flipped the bone again. Darla chuckled and she playfully pushed him. Rufus huffed and rubbed his snout in her arm. 

"That's not up to me." Darla smiled and pushed his snout off her arm. Owen raised an eyebrow. 

"What did he ask?" Owen asked and eyed Rufus.

"Nothing really important. He's just curious." Darla sipped her drink. Rufus wuffled and stood up. 

"Well it looks like it is to him." Owen smirked. 

"He hasn't been around other dinosaurs, so he's kind of curious about your raptors." Darla replied and patted Rufus's side. Owen winced. 

"I don't know how they'll handle that. I don't know how I'll handle that. They're my girls. He's a boy." Owen frowned as Rufus whined. Rufus nuzzled at Darla's shoulder. 

"Maybe just from behind the bars?" Darla asked. She rubbed Rufus's snout. 

"Kind of mean, but maybe. It'd be safer." Owen mulled the idea over. Darla swirled her straw around her cup. 

"Mmm..." Darla tilted her head and looked at her drink with a questioning look. 

"What?" Owen asked. 

"I kind of wanted to check a few places out tomorrow morning...Could Rufus to visit then? If I bring him along he will have to stand outside. By himself. And I'm sure he'd whine and fuss the entire time, and someone won't like all the ruckus, and someone might mistake his fussing for something bad..." Darla rambled for a moment.

"Wouldn't he just fuss if you left him during a visit?" Owen asked not too sure if he wanted to raptor sit. Though part of it could be interesting. 

"Maybe, but not if he's distracted. If he's got someone or someones to keep him company he should be fine. He doesn't like being totally alone. We lost a nice couch the least time I tried that." Darla replied. Owen smirked.

"Oo. Well then. He could stay in the front entry way. It locks, though it's not that big. And he'd be able to see the the girls without anyone being able to fully get to each other. They could still bite and grab through the bars." Owen stated.

  
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Rufus trilled as they walked up the path that led to Owen's raptor paddock and bungalow. They were still a good distance away, not quite at the property yet. She had parked the long shuttle cart just at the beginning of the off road area. She texted Owen earlier, and got the ok to bring him by. Rufus nosed Darla while they walked, pushing her along faster. He trilled again and Darla could tell that he was overly excited about this little excursion.

"Geeze. You are way too excited for a raptor your size. I am still tiny and squishy compared to you." She moved herself out of his way. He whined and nipped at her clothes. Catching a piece of fabric he pulled her along. She let out a sigh, and not wanting her clothes to rip, she quickened her pace. 

Upon seeing their fashion of arrival Owen couldn't help but laugh. He watched as the raptor practically dragged the woman up the pathway by the arm sleeve. While it seemed harmless, part of him still worried, all it would take is a quick bite and one good yank to ruin the funny moment. He stepped down from the porch and made his was over to the enclosure. 

"Mornin'." Owen greeted them as they approached the enclosure. He had started to open the door to the inner room. 

"Hey - Oo Rufus stop-" Darla pulled back her arm, getting the fabric out of Rufus's mouth, and stopped behind him. Rufus turned and growled lowly. Owen's smile turned to a more worried look. He really didn't want to have to explain this to upper management. Nor did he want to witness a bloody mess. 

"Don't you even start. We will turn right back around." Darla pressed her face to his snout, nose to nose, and stared at him. Neither moved for a solid minute.

Darla waited as Rufus pushed forward his frustration. The lack of speed. The want to play. The sudden stop. She held posture while he rumbled and complained, until he was fully done getting all of the emotional frustration out. Once done she pushed her own calmness and explanation for the current actions. 

"-" Owen paused before even starting his sentence as Rufus gave a soft whine and pulled away from the staring contest. 

"Let's try this again. Come on. You know better." Darla patted Rufus's side as he stood next to her. He wuffled before walking up to Owen. Rufus briefly bowed low and then looked back at Darla. 

"Ok then. Hopefully that's the worse it gets. If you don't mind, step on in." He motioned to the open room. Rufus trilled and trotted into the room. Owen closed the door behind him. He circled around the entry room, chittering and trilling. After a few moments several barks and whoops answer him back. The girls slowly made their way to the barred fence, sniffing loudly. 

"That was tense. It's good that he didn't decide to just bite your head off. Will he be fine if you leave?" Owen sighed as he turned to watch the raptors interact. Near silent chitters and rumbles were exchanged as Rufus stood close to the bars let the girls sniff him. He bowed low, keeping his clawed hands close to his chest. 

"He seems content enough now. He should be good. Give me call if he starts acting up." Darla nodded before taking another look toward Rufus. She left him a calming thought before looking away. 

"Will do. Anything special I need to know?" Owen asked glancing back to Darla. She paused for a moment, hands on her hips. 

"Mm, if he gets fussy, play some heavy metal or techno music. Then call if doesn't stop. Usually music helps calm him down. Otherwise all should be good. Thank you. I shouldn't be too long." She waved, briefly bowed and then turned to leave. 

"You're welcome." He shook his head as she walked away before turning back to the raptors. He probably should have asked if she needed a ride, but he had a feeling she'd say no. He continued to watch the raptors interact, while pondering some things over.

  
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Darla parked the oversized shuttle cart just outside the lab building. They had tours going on today and she wanted to see some cute hatching dinos. She found her way in and got in line to join a tour group. While waiting she popped an ear bud of her mp3 player into her ear. Music distracted her from the long wait. 

The beginning part of the tour they talked about dna, and how it was found and recoded. They described a lot of different things that Darla stopped paying attention to. She wanted to see the hatchery. She stopped to listen here and there, but she was super focused on getting to the fun part. Finally after what seemed like forever they had made their way to one of the hatcheries.

  
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Owen decided he would still get some training in with his girls. He wouldn't be able to let them out, but he could use the catwalk and work on more visual and verbal commands. They had finally finished with all the sniffing and chittering and wuffling, just a few minutes ago. He was sure if it didn't stop he would have a pounding headache by the end of the morning. Rufus watched carefully as the girls diverted their undivided attention to Owen when he called out to them.

  
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Quietly she watched as the walked by different windowed rooms. They were being led into one of the herbivore hatchery rooms when Darla noticed an overly plain partially cracked door off to the side of the hall just before the entry way to the hatchery room. With a slight turn and a quick glance before hand, she spun around and slipped into the room. 

The room was quiet and thankfully devoid of people. It was fairly small, with what looked like a half sized version of the incubators set to the back of the room. The dim red light above the incubator table was barely enough to light the empty gray room. A lone folding chair was propped up against the side wall. Excitement and curiosity took over as she walked up to the incubator.

  
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***Ring* *Ring***

"Hello? Is everything okay?" Owen answered his phone as he walked down the stairs off the side of the raptor paddock. Claire didn't normally call this early in the morning. She usually had a lot of meetings booked early. 

"Are you sure? If you aren't busy, that'd be great. A little busy here, but an hour or so shouldn't hurt. The usual place for coffee then? See you then. Bye." Owen hung up the phone and headed inside to change his shirt before heading out on his bike. Apparently a meeting had been canceled and chatting over coffee was a nice break from the morning business.

  
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Inside was much deeper than the ones in the other room. Two large eggs sat in the center already showing signs of hatching. She flipped open the folding chair and sat down to watch. Darla watched intensely as the eggs warbled and small pieces began to chip off. Soon little grayish white snouts poked through holes, followed by flailing limbs pushing apart the eggs. Darla gasped as the hatchlings squeaked tiny roars at each other. One appeared a bit smaller. The larger one tumbled over and nipped at the smaller one. 

"Hey! Be nice. Be nice. You only get one family." Darla exclaimed as she reached in and carefully lifted up the larger one.

The hatchling squealed and hissed as she brought it closer. She carefully flipped the hatchling onto it's back, holding it almost baby style while holding the clawed limbs and toothy snout securely. She looked down at the smaller one and smiled. It had laid down, comfortably curled under the red light. It peered a red orange eye up at her before falling asleep. The larger one in her arms wuffled, and tried once more to squirm free. 

"Shhh...it's ok. Hey, I've got you. I don't know why they would leave two babies alone, but I've got you both. Shh..." Darla whispered to the hatchlings as she rocked the one she was holding. She leaned back in the chair and began to sing along with the stone that came on in her mp3 player. 

"Hurt, the measure of blind ambition, the testament to your singular disease, against all wisdom you heed no warning, your desires giving you away..." Darla sang softly as she slowly let go of the hatchling's head and rubbed it's chin. The hatchling purred and started to settle. She snuggled it closer, loosening her hold on its limbs enough to let it relax. The hatching grumbled before nuzzling into her chest.

  
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Rufus tilted his head as he watched the man leave. A sharp bark from his side caught his attention. He fully turned to look at the raptor standing by the bars. 

'Alpha Owen left?' Blue asked with a soft chitter. The other girls were standing a ways back, keeping mostly to themselves, but still aware of the situation. 

'Yes. Just left.' Rufus replied with a low rumble. 

'You can open door.' Blue chittered again and motioned to the keypad by the inner door.   
Rufus trotted over to the keypad. It had strange glowy lights and symbols. Something called numbers if he remembered correctly. He had learned some while watching along with Bouncy Softling's studying. Dancing Alpha spent a lot of time teaching Bouncy Softling numbers and letters. Rufus had watched all of it. Even if the group of letters didn't make sense, he knew they meant something. He missed Bouncy Softling, while she could be too loud and twitchy, she was always soft and gentle with him. 

'How?' He looked back toward Blue. 

'Top right, top left, middle, middle, middle left, bottom right, middle right, bottom left.' Blue instructed and Rufus followed as he poked the glowy symbols. After a brief pause, there was a click sound and the gate started rise up. Rufus wuffled and Blue trilled. Rufus trotted over to the open gate and bowed, waiting for the okay to enter. Blue motioned for Rufus to enter. And with a soft trill he trotted in. 

The two raptors circled each other, each inspecting the other more closely now that the bars were out of the way. The rest of the girls approached slowly, chittering softly, waiting for Blue's approval. 

-Safe?- Delta questioned with a wuffle, stepping closer to the two.

-Safe.- Blue responded after poking Rufus's side with her snout. Rufus trilled and turned to face the rest of the girls. Charlie and Echo made their way over following behind Delta.   
Rufus barked and barely a moment later a strange game of chase and tackle ensued. The raptors ran playfully ran around the paddock, whooping, wuffling, and barking, only pausing when tackled.

  
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Darla looked down at the now sleeping hatchling in her arms and smiled. She should probably get going before the tour gets too far ahead. She stood up and carefully placed the hatchling back into the incubator. She gently rubbed the two hatchlings backs and bid the sleepy babies farewell. She folded up the chair before peeking outside the door. Thankfully the tour group only moved down a little further. Once the coast was clear of peering eyes she slipped out of the room and back to the group.

  
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Owen pulled up to the bungalow and glanced over at the raptor paddock. His heart nearly skipped a beat when he couldn't spot Rufus in the outer gated area. He jumped off his bike and jogged toward the paddock. Noticing the inner door open, he sighed and run up the side stairs to the catwalk. His eyes swept quickly around the paddock looking for the raptors. 

He spotted them in a treed in area. Rufus was lazily laid along a tree log. Blue sat close to his head. Delta and Echo sat on the other side, and Charlie was curled up just in front of Blue and Rufus. It looked like they were sharing stories with soft chitters and wuffles. Owen shook his head. He would ask the girls later how he got in. There better have not been any funny business.

  
Darla arrived not to long after. The tour had been pleasant enough, but they still had to get ready for this evenings shows. She laughed when Owen showed her where Rufus was. 

"Figures he'd do that. Hey Rufus! We have to go!" Darla called out to Rufus.

He wuffled in protest before slowly standing up. He looked back at the girls and chittered something. This got a round of trills from the girls and a short bob from Blue. He jumped off the log, landing between Delta and Echo, and trotted over to the open door. He looked back once more before walking into the entry room. He turned and pressed his snout against a large button. The gate closed and waited by the front door. 

"Well then. You've got a peculiar raptor. I can see why you wouldn't want to leave him alone at the hotel. He'd probably get out and end up wondering the park. Next time he will have to stay in the paddock. I don't need him letting the girls out for fun." Owen shook his head again with a sigh. They both walked down to the gate and Owen opened it. 

"Yeah. He'd complain and then get out and go looking for me. He's a big baby sometimes. I swear he never grew out of the let's explore everything stage. And the attached to my leg stage." Darla rolled her eyes as Rufus trotted out, and made a short circle around her. He nuzzled her side before turning and wuffling at Owen.

  
"He's thanking you." Darla explained.   
"You're welcome." Owen briefly replied.   
"Ok. Let's get going. We still have to pick routine for this evening. Thanks again." Darla waved before taking off with Rufus. Owen nodded.

They were definitely an odd pair. Maybe he'd ask her to show the girls a routine, but right now he needed to go have a serious chat with his girls.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	6. Dancing Mad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of crazy dancing! Some dangerous stunts.  
> "talk" Regular talk  
> -dino- Dino thought talk  
>  I don't own the music or clothes.  
> Songs:  
> The Devil Went Down To Georgia - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dStzFhU7aU  
> The Roof iz on Fire - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM4wrGOfMJ0  
> Clothes:  
> Fancy Dress - http://www.my-lolita-dress.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/650x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/0/-/0-steam-castle-jsk.jpg  
> Leotard - https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/e7/f0/2b/e7f02bef3d74825c356c1e19efaba87d.jpg

**Chapter 6**

Darla smiled as Rufus tried to get as close as he could to her laptop. Skype was up and running. On the other end was her husband and child. The two adults had just finished their conversation.  Rufus was more than thrilled to see the little girl. He pushed his snout to the screen and wuffled. Lottie giggled on the other end and blew raspberries back. She told the dinosaur she loved him and missed him a lot. Rufus responded with a trill and another wuffle. Lottie began to tell him all about school and he listened with a fierce intensity. Occasionally he would nod or churrup when she paused in her story.

"Okay, it's time to say our goodbyes, we have to get ready for the shows." Darla patted Rufus's side while watching the screen with a smile.  Goodbyes and love yous where exchanged and the program closed.  

"Tonight shall be fun! Instruments and pads to go with the dance. Definitely going to have to plan out the path. Which one do you like?" Darla pulled up a map on her laptop with several paths colored on it. Rufus stared at the screen and chittered.

"Hmmm...this one looks good and we can get to here and cover that one too." Darla continued to study the map for a little longer. With a smile she closed out the map and put away her laptop.

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"They're still too small for the accelerated gel tanks. They'll need their first set of shots to insure survival."

"How soon is that?"

"A few days at most."

"Soon as they are ready I want them in the tanks. We need the new exhibit up as soon as possible. Leave them here until then. The less interaction they get, the scarier they will be."

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Darla pulled the backpack as they walked down the main road. They were almost at the key point. They had been stopped twice already for questions about Rufus. Also they had already done a short routine on the way here. Today was turning out to be a busy evening. Darla had on one of her fancy dresses.

"Is that a real raptor?" A visitor asked. Rufus barked in response causing the person to jump.

"Yes. Yes, this is Rufus. We're going to be getting ready to do a show." Darla replied shaking away her lost in thought stare.

"Aren't raptors dangerous?" The questions continued, with more eagerness. Rufus stepped forward a bit to sniff the person asking questions. The person shivered while trying to stand still.

"Usually yes. And he still is dangerous, he's just smart enough to know better. He knows he can't attack or eat people here. I've taught him some social etiquette. Granted it is still possible to trigger instinctual behavior. He's good as long as he is well fed and not threatened. A well fed predator that is not under attack has no reason to attack." Darla explained rubbing Rufus's snout once he turned around to face her.

"But what about for fun? Don't they like to do that?" One more question. Rufus shook his head and held it low while Darla brought her rubbing down to his neck. He seemed to purr as he leaned into the rubs.

"Not if it isn't fun anymore. Rufus had been taught that there is a very unpleasant consequence if he hunts people. He has a place where he can enjoy the thrill of a hunt without putting people in harms way." Darla continued to explain with a smile. Rufus stood up straight again and turned to face the way they were walking.

"Ooooh...." The visitor nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answers.

"Looks like he's ready to go. Well gotta get going. It's about time to get started anyway." Darla smiled and turned to leave.

It wasn't far up the path that she decided to get set up for the first act. There were two sets of benches set in a way that made a rectangular area. She set up the perimeter lines, and then the sound pads and small speakers. There were two groups of pads. One set had violins on them and the other set had some drums on it. People started to gather while she was setting up. Light curious chatter circulated through the small growing audience. Darla pulled out a violin and Rufus positioned himself in front of the two sets of sound pads.

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"Well this looks like it will be fun. Have you ever seen a raptor play with dance pads?" Lowery asked as he put the live feed up on the big screen.

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"The devil went down to Georgia, He was looking for a soul to steal, He was in a bind, Cause he was way behind, and he was willing to make a deal..." The music began and the two started to dance and play. For now Rufus played on the drum like pads.  People watched in awe as the dinosaur bounced his clawed feet from pad to pad to the rhythm of the song. Darla played her violin and danced her way toward Rufus in beat to the song. They two duel danced to the story as the song continued to play.

"Johnny rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard, 'Cause hell's broke loose in Georgia, and the devil deals the cards, And if you win, you get this shiny fiddle made of gold, But if you loose, the devil gets your soul..." Darla no hand cartwheeled while playing the violin. With a sharp twists and turns, she danced  back and forth, from corner to corner of the rectangular area, her dress swayed and accentuate her movements. Rufus bobbed and swayed as he bounced from pad to pad, following the song's rhythm.

"When the devil finished, Johnny said, you're pretty good old son, But sit down in that chair right there, And let me show you how it's done..." Rufus lept over to the set of violin pads and began to play with furious speed and precision. Each step matching the note, he kept his focus. Darla danced as he played, she mixed acrobatics with a jazzy form of ballet. She lightly filled in the background sounds with  her violin.

"He played Fire on the Mountain, run boys run, The devil's in the House of the Rising Sun, Chicken in the bread pan pickin out dough, Granny does your dog bite? No child no.. " They played simultaneously tearing through the song's rhythm, each movement molded to the story's direction and emotion. Rufus played between the two sets of pads with surprising speed and accuracy. The crowd watched in silent awe.

The two bowed at the end of the song and Darla began to put the setup away. The people that had stopped to watch clapped. A few asked questions and one child wanted to pet Rufus. Much to the crowd's surprise Rufus obliged. Rufus sniffed and nosed at the people in the front parts of the crowd, letting them pat or rub his snout. Darla worked on cleaning up the dance items and boundaries, putting them into her bag.

"Alright it's time to head to the next spot. Let's go Rufus. Thanks everyone! We will be performing again shortly." Darla smiled and waved as they began to walk. The crowd slowly dispersed as people went back to their plans.

"So I've got a fun idea. You up for something crazy?" Darla asked while rubbing Rufus's side.

-Always.- He tilted his head and chittered.

"You still aren't afraid of heights, are you?" Darla smiled as she looked up and observed some of the upper areas of the park.

-No.- Rufus replied as he made sure they didn't walk into anyone. Sometimes Dancing Alpha was a bit careless.

"Good. This will be awesome." Darla smiled.

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The music sirens blared, causing people to look for is source. It wasn't until some pointed up at the top of one of the tall enclosures that the source was found. Darla stood a few feet in front of Rufus on the top rim of the enclosure. There was a stack of metal slabs behind the raptor. Rufus wore a lightly decorated harness that seemed to keep him safely grounded atop the enclosure and as well as some strange looking custom silver foot covers on his feet and hands. Rufus held a peculiar looking metallic ball connected to a long chain loosely in his jaws. Darla wore a fancy blue leotard and similarly made silver  boots and gloves. In each hand she held a cylinder metal handle with some switches, each connected to their own thin chain that connects to a large ridged metal ring. People stopped to watch, some in fear, some in awe.

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"You might want to see this. If you're out on the park head over to the new enclosure on main street. If your by a computer access the main street video live feed." Lowery had gone through several different comm channels to get ahold of both Owen and Claire. Owen had been out in the park, and curious enough, he made his way there. Claire had been in her office, finishing up the last of emails, so she checked in on the live feed. Neither expected what they saw.

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As the song fully began -Deepack and Showtech, The Roof is on Fire- Rufus dropped the ball, just hanging on to the chain, and started swinging it in a large circle over the side of the wall. Darla skipped forward several feet, front flipped, stuck her landing and begun to swing her rings. As they made a second circle, she flipped a switch and the rings ignited into flames. Taking the first cue, Rufus rolled the chain’s box in his mouth, pushed a button with his tongue, causing his metal ball to ignite. Carefully he swung the now flaming ball into figure eights, having it arch over him to each side of the wall. More people had stopped to watch. The crowd had double in size. Security seemed partially confused. Not sure if they should stop it or just watch and wait. Thankfully they chose to wait.

Darla tumbled, jumped, twisted and bent in a strange but alluring dance with her swinging flaming rings. Every so often she would adjust the length of the chain to bring them closer or further away to give her the time necessary to perform her stunts. She turned and the two seemed to play a mock duel with their flaming spinning objects.  During a slower part of the song in the near middle they turn off the flaming objects. Darla made her way toward Rufus with several front flips and spins.  He crouched down as she approached, holding on to the wall, allowing her to take the object he held, and let Darla climb up and over his body to place all items but one of her rings down. Taking the disconnected ring she made her way back over Rufus with a gentle spring flip. With the ring carefully held she cartwheeled a good distance from Rufus to the rhythm of the song. She turned and tossed the ring Rufus, who caught it and tossed it back. As he was tossing the ring, Darla began her series of front flips, only grabbing the enclosure top so she could catch the ring with her feet and toss it back as she finished each flip. They passed the ring back and forth in this fashion until she got too close to play. She looped the ring over his snout before taking off in a series of insane back flips. He follows slowly, keeping a safe distance away, but close enough to nab her if she were mess up. With the last part of the beat, Rufus leaned forward to fully grip the wall as Darla spun in mid flip to land facing him, and then flipped up to land a handstand on his back. The crowd collectively gasped, for the umpteenth time this evening.

Rufus slowly backed up until his tail touched the stack of metal slabs. He stepped forward a few places to allow Darla to carefully dismount behind him. He tossed her the ring, which she took and collect the other items, draping them over her shoulder. She turned the metal slabs and after checking the area, she slid the top one out toward the ground. The other slabs start to fall toward the ground, each extending out from the other, creating what looked like a long metal slide to the ground.

"Ok Rufus, turn around. Just like we practiced. I'll grab your harness and down we go." Darla spoke to Rufus as he slowly turned around on the ledge. She unhitched the harness from the safety grounding line, and held onto the lead end. With a smile and deep breath, she stepped onto the metal slide backwards. With a gentle tug, Rufus followed, facing her.  The two seemed to slide much slower than should have been possible on what seemed like a plain metal surface. They still were sliding at a decent pace, but it seemed more controlled. Once they were near the end, Darla bent backwards far enough to allow Rufus to slide his way over her.  Rufus easily hopped off the end as Darla let go of the harness lead so she could properly stand up and turned to face Rufus.

"Magnets. Just like the wheel-less monorails. That's why we have on these gloves and such."  Darla stated as if reading everyone's mind.

"We have a good amount of practice in balancing stunts, so don't try this at home. I hope everyone enjoyed the show. I'd love to stick around and answer questions, but it's time to eat. We will be around the park tomorrow, so I can answer questions then." Darla continued quickly. The crowd seemed to be stuck in a quiet awe.  

She turned briefly and pressed a button that caused the metal slide to collapse. Rufus trotted away toward the enclosure and brought back a large backpack on wheels. Darla stuffed everything into it. She pulled a handle up to help her wheel it along. Slowly there was chatter among the crowd before it dispersed.

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Claire was both horrified and amazed at what she saw. At any moment it could have turned into a terrible accident. The fact that it didn't made it insanely amazing. Part of her was mad at them for doing something that dangerous.

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Darla found a place to change into her fancy dress before they stopped at a food stall. She order a small plate for herself and a plate of raw meats for Rufus. The two found a nice quiet bench to sit on and enjoy their food. It wasn't long before they were found.

"How the hell did you get a raptor up there?" Owen asked as he walked up to them. Rufus huffed as he looked up from his nearly done food. He was quite hungry after that stunt.

"Shoots and ladders...we um, took an outer ladder up. Getting all the heavy shit up wasn't easy." Darla paused mid way to giggle at her own joke. Owen rolled his eyes at the horrible joke.

"That was actually kind of cool. Don't think anyone with a sense of sanity would do that, but it was fun to watch. And security probably won't let you get away with that again." Owen replied.

"I know. Now I have to find a way to top that performance...Though I'm only here for another two nights." Darla seemed to zone out for a moment.

"Eh, you're crazy enough.  You'll come up with something." Owen smiled and glanced at Rufus, who had finally finished his meal.

"Well, I hope it helps to seal the deal of keeping this new job. We will definitely have to work on some new stuff at home." Darla continued before finishing up her food.

"If they haven't arrested you for it yet, it might help. I'm sure there will be plenty of hype about it later." Owen shook his head. They enjoyed some small talk before going their separate ways.

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Owen sighed as he watched the male raptor trot around the raptor paddock. He had agreed to watch Rufus one more time so Darla could go on a few park tours. The girls didn't seem bothered by the male. Owen sat in a chair set up on the catwalk. Randomly  they would break into a crazy chase around the paddock before they all settled in a peculiar fashion around a short bush. Owen laughed the first time they sat like that, it looked like they were sitting around a bonfire, but not all of them were facing the right way.

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Darla enjoyed the Cretaceous Cruise. It was interesting and relaxing. After having a quick bite, she made her way to the hatchery again for another tour. She was still curious about the hatchlings she saw last time.  It was easy enough again to slip into the overly plain and unlabeled door. Much to her surprise, the two she had seen last time were still in the large half incubator. They sniffed loudly as she approached.

"Hey there sweet babies. They still have you isolated, huh? It must be so lonely here. Even if there are two of you." Darla stopped before carefully reaching in to pet them. One was clearly larger than the other. The smaller one looked thinner, more frail. For a moment it looked as though the larger one was going to snap at the smaller one, but it stopped and looked back up to Darla. She smiled.

"Good. No fighting today." She scratched their chins before stepping back a bit. They stepped back to see better.

"I brought something cool." Darla pulled out a collapsible double handled guitar like instrument. The young dinosaurs watched, churruping softly.

"Little child, dry your crying eyes, how can I explain the fear you feel inside..." She began to sing quietly as she played the instrument. After the song, she put away her instrument. She spent a bit of time holding each one, though much more carefully, since they had grown quite a bit since the last visit.

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Rufus trilled before playfully leaping into the bed. Darla threw her dress at him before slipping on a night gown. He wuffled and tipped over as if the dress had been a heavy fatal hit. Darla laughed as she retrieved her dress. Rufus sat up and sniffed the dress as she pulled  it away.

-Smells like hatchlings.- He thought as he chittered and turned up his snout.

"Well I did visit the hatchery. What are you jealous?" She teased.

-No. Smells strange. Not normal.- He pawed at his snout and huffed.

"Don't all babies smell funny?" Darla chuckled as she placed the dress in the laundry basket beside the bed.

-Smells wrong. Be careful.- He scooted over as Darla plopped into the bed.

"Mmm okay..." Darla responded before closing the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to all who read! I know it's a weird story, so I'm glad you stick around to read it. Feel free to leave comments.


	7. Last day at the park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, it does get mildly graphic during the last dance. Nothing bad, but if you don't like blood or dirty dancing, skip the last dance segment.  
> That being said, lots of dances in this chapter.  
> Thank you for reading and thank you for the kudos! I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dance outfits:  
> Black and white leotard- http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=95589092
> 
> Bikini outfit- https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/16/9d/13/169d137a94c7525cb4aa8e17915a8ab3.jpg
> 
> Black Dress Red Corset-  
> https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/0f/0b/16/0f0b16a6ed87f49d2fd414ba7ed440fa.jpg

Chapter 7 : Last Day

  
"Only a day and a half, huh?" James asked as he pulled Lottie back from the screen. The young girl huffed and pushed herself free. She leaned back close to the screen and called for Rufus.  
"Yup. Then we will be back. If I read it correctly, they'll get back to me in about a week to discuss the options." Darla replied as she shifted through some papers before stuffing them into a bag. Rufus, who had been doing something in the other room, trotted in looking for the familiar voice. He trilled when he saw the little girl's face on the screen.  
"It's gonna be a tough choice for the next few performances. I kind of pulled out the show stopper yesterday." Darla smiled as she watched her child and Rufus make nonsense chatter. What ever they were taking about, it was well lost to anyone else listening in.  
"You used the magnetic set? What did you do, scale a building?" James laughed at the rediculous idea.  
"An enclosure actually. We performed atop an enclosure." Darla corrected him as she reached over and scratched Rufus's side.  
"And you didn't get arrested? Good job! You remember what happened last time you did something like that? That was a long day. Guess you really do have to come up with something crazier." James replied.

  
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It was still early and Darla managed to get Rufus to agree to stay at the hotel for a bit while she visited the hatchery again. He didn't seem to happy to hear that she wanted to see the strange hatchlings again. Darla had to explain how lonely they were before he gave in. She had both tvs turned on for him with two channels that he liked to watch, his food was set up for him, she filled the tub, and she gathered and divided all the soft blankets between the two rooms with the tvs. Hopefully this would keep him busy long enough. She didn't want to keep bothering Owen for babysitting. He probably had better things to do.  
Darla hummed as she followed the early morning tour group. This group was moving a little slower since there seemed to be a lot of people here today. There were some new eggs hatching today. Very cute little stegosaurus. Darla stuck to the edges of the crowd, occasionally flicking through her mp3 player and humming along with the random songs. At least she had time to think about a plan for today's performances. Nothing seemed to jump out yet. She kept flicking through the songs in hope of finding inspiration. The the group mozied over to the next room.  
Finally they were close enough to the small room for Darla to slip away. She wasn't sure if they knew what she was doing, but no one stopped her or talked to her about it, so she figured it was fine. She smiled upon seeing the two white dinosaurs starting up at her. The two trilled while leaning up to the edge. Darla walked over and gently rubbed them. The little ones leaned into the rub and purred. Darla leaned over and picked up the smaller one. She sighed feeling how thin the small one was.  
"Here, have some of this. It should fill you up a bit." Darla pulled out a few strip of jerky from her pocket and feed it to the young dinosaur. The hatchling gobbled up the meat and then stared up at her. She rubbed the little one's head before placing her back into the hatchery. The larger hatchling nipped at the smaller one.  
"Hey! Be nice! I got some for you too." Darla shook her head before carefully picking up the larger hatchling. The larger one was a bit more feisty, so handling her was a little more difficult. One Darla got her settled, she pulled out some more jerky and feed it to the hatchling, who devoured it immediately. The hatchling fussed and nosed at Darla for more. She laughed before pulling out another piece and giving it to her.  
"Love, I've got plenty to go around. Thanks to having a raptor who likes snacks." Darla pulled out another piece and tossed it to the smaller hatchling. The hatchlings looked up waiting for more. All she could do was laugh as she pulled out the bag of jerky after placing the large hatchling back into the hatchery pen. They yipped excitedly as she dangled the jerky over them.  
"Alright let's try a few things." Darla started with some basic commands and rewarding correct responses. She noted how quickly they picked up on things. Apparently they were very smart. She played this little game with them until the jerky was all gone. By the end of it the hatchlings were stuffed and content. They curled up to sleep as Darla gently stroked their backs.  
"Sleep well lovelies. I'll visit again when I get a chance. It won't be for a while, as I've got to go home." Darla spoke out loud while thinking about it, not really sure if they got it.

  
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Darla returned to the hotel townhouse to find Rufus asleep in the middle of the living area. He had curled up with several pillows from the bed. She smiled and headed up to the shower. It would be nice to get clean with a little privacy. She gathered her clean clothes, and set up her other bathroom necessities. The hot water felt good against her skin. The soft suds flowed down to the drain as they rolled off her body. It wasn't until she heard the floor creak as she began washing her hair that she realized someone was in the bathroom with her.  
"Rufus..." Darla called out and was answered with a wuffle.  
-Why not stop to see me? Came home, just walk right by.- Rufus questioned as he started to nose the shower curtains.  
"You were asleep. I didn't want to wake you. Besides I needed a shower." Darla replied as she readied her razor. Rufus pushed aside the curtain just enough to stick his head in. He whined at the sight of the razor.  
-Why use sharp edge? Looks dangerous.- He wuffled and titled his head toward her.  
"It's fine. You've seen me use it before." She began to shave her legs.  
-Made you bleed. Should take it away. Isn't safe.- Rufus complained with a growl.  
"That was once. And I need to shave or I'll get all hairy." She shook her head before continuing.  
-Is fine. Hairy is fine. Is natural.- Rufus he explained with a short bark.  
"Maybe to you. But I don't want to be hairy. It isn't comfortable for me." Darla rinsed off her legs and then shut off the water. Rufus huffed as she pushed his snout out. She wrapped up her hair with one towel and her body with another towel before stepping out.  
"Now I've got another idea for this evening's performances. But...I'll need to stitch you up another costume. We're gonna have some more fun." She smiled as she headed to her room to change after drying off.

  
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He wasn't sure why, but he felt the need to go check on Darla. During a routine check in, Lowery had mentioned that he'd seen Darla out and about without Rufus earlier in the day. Since she had explained why she couldn't leave Rufus alone the first time she asked him to watch the raptor, it worried him a bit. Owen walked down the pathway that led to the townhouse styled hotels. It took him a few minutes, but he finally found it. He knocked on the door and waited.  
"It's open. Come in!" He heard Darla yell from inside. Slowly he opened the door, not sure what to expect. It definitely was not what he expected to see when he opened the door. The living area head been transformed into what could only be described as a strange scene from a movie about magic. On one side of the room Darla sat in a strange tribal looking outfit, holding a large sewing needle in her mouth, in front of Rufus. Rufus had what looked like the beginning of a tribal costume on. While there was one light aimed at Rufus, the rest of the room was dim. Candles were lit on various surfaces in the room. Several incense were lit on a table near the wall. Around the table were multiple witchcraft books. On the floor not far from the two was a stack of tarot cards and not far from those was an open case with a bunch of gemstone pendants and small stones. It didn't help that Swarm by Dark Lotus was playing. For a moment, the idea of just closing the door and leaving crossed Owen's mind. He had seen that they were alive, and fine - well as fine as one can be in all that strangeness.  
"Yes?" Darla asked, pulling Owen out of his current thoughts.  
"Just wanted to make sure ya'll were okay. And uh, looks like your doing great. I'll be going now." Owen replied before he closed the door.  
"Ok...Thanks...bye?" Darla stared at the door confused. Rufus simply chittered before nuzzling her shoulder.

  
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Rufus trilled as he followed Darla down the busy path. They stopped every so often to answer questions as they made their way to one of the locations. They had on their tribal outfits, which drew even more attention. Rufus was loving it. He would pause dramatically and turn around to give the crowd a full view of him every time they stoped to answer a question. He even posed for a few pictures. The parts of small crowd followed them to their destination. There was a nice open space at one of the main cross roads. Darla began to set up while Rufus continued to please the crowd. Once done she called to Rufus, showing him it was time to start. He trotted over to his spot and waited.

  
_"Rah! (Rah!) I have a heart, I swear I do, But just not baby when it comes to you, I get so hungry when you say you love me, (Hush!) if you know what's good for you..."_ The song started up and the strange contemporary dance began. Each exaggerated movement caused ripples to appear on the ground as though it was water. During the instrumental part of the song Darla picked up a set of long batons and struck the ends like matches on the ground. The ends sparked and ignited. She played a dangerous game of dance, juggle and toss the batons with Rufus. The flaming batons were passed between the two with precise precision and speed. On the last catch Darla swiped the batons along the ground, snuffing them out. Once the song ended the two bowed.

  
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Darla looked at Rufus as they stopped to set up. The spot they had picked for their last dance was in front of a large wall. Since there were large statutes to each side, it created a stage like setting, forcing the audience to see from the front angle. Darla set up two separate dark box areas - one on the left side, the other on the right, leaving the center open. In the center she set up 1 inch wide by 1 in long by various (1 foot to 4 foot) high posts with varying distance between them. Behind the posts she put together a raised platform and set several metallic items down on the back of it. She set up two trampolines icon of the dark boxes. Darla had already made sure to let Claire know that this routine was not for children to view. This was a more adult performance, and as a result, there was security present at both ends of the path that led here to turn families with children and those who did not want to witness an adult themed performance away.  
Darla tossed away her robe to reveal a white rhythmic leotard with black swirls. She smiled at Rufus while waiting for the music to start.

  
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Claire was curious as to what kind of adult performance this was going to be. She ok'd it since it was late enough in the evening and they did find a secluded place. She was free for a bit this evening so she decided to go see it in person.

  
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Owen happened to be meeting with Claire earlier when the request for an adult-ish themed performance was going to be performed by the new hires. How exactly does one perform something adult themed with a raptor? Own shook his head. Maybe for violence of some sort? Life threatening tricks? Part of him was curious, part of him was disturbed. After mulling it over a moment he grabbed his old laptop and headed out side. He sat in by the inner gate of the rapror's paddock before accessing the live feed of the secluded part of the park. The girls curiously trotted over and looked at the strange device.

  
-Strange pair?- Blue tilted her head as she watched the screen.  
"Yeah." Owen replied.

  
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_"Ladies and gentlemen, please;Would you bring your attention to me?;For a feast for your eyes to see;An explosion of catastrophe"_ Swirling and waving smoke like patterns moved along the back wall, much like visual effects screen on a pc media player. Darla and Rufus started at opposite ends of the stage, slowly dancing toward each other in a ragged almost stiff way.

  
_"Like nothing you've ever seen before;Watch closely as I open this door;Your jaws will be on the floor;After this you'll be begging for more;Welcome to the show;Please come inside;Ladies and gentlemen!"_ Pushing her hands forward, for a brief moment a door appeared in front of her, burst open and then disappeared in time with the story of the song. Rufus bobbed as he made his way through the disappearing door. The two passed by each other and made their way to the trampolines.

  
_"Boom! (Do you want it?);Boom! (Do you need it?);Boom! (Let me hear it!);Ladies and gentlemen!"_ With the first sound of the boom, they hopped onto their trampolines as flame colored spheres burst up from ground and exploded into tinier spheres. The tiny spheres reformed into two large spheres. Darla and Rufus reached for their spheres as they jumped.

  
_"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening;You've seen, and seeing is believing;Your ears and your eyes will be bleeding;Please check to see if you're still breathing"_ Darla preformed multiple jumps with flips and twists while tossing and catching her sphere that continued to change element and color. Rufus flipped and bounced, catching and balancing his sphere in different ways. Each move caused his sphere to change color.

  
_"Hold tight 'cause the show is not over;If you will please move in closer:You're about to be bowled over;By the wonders you're about to behold here"_ The two began to juggle the ever changing spheres between each other as the bounced and flipped. They continued to playfully jump and dance on the trampolines until the music ended. Each time the word boom came up the spheres would explode and then reform dramatically.

  
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Claire watched with amusement. It wasn't overly adult. In fact this was pretty normal. It was interesting to see in person. Better than watching the videos, as it was easier to read their expressions. She looked around. A surprisingly large crowd had gathered and they all seemed satisfied with the show.

  
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The two stepped into separate dark boxes. As Rob Zombie's Spookshow Baby began to play, wispy spheres of light appeared in the dark boxes, pulsing to the rhythm of the song. They swayed to and fro in the dark boxes as if pulled by an unknown force. The images on the back wall darkened into creepy shadows and shapes gliding up and down the wall. A dense fog rolled out from under the platform in the back covering the staged area.

  
_"Oh high noon dead moon;A hangin' all over you yeah ;Devil man yes;I can cut a little piece of you yeah..."_ Darla and Rufus stepped out of the dark boxes as the spheres shot out in various directions disappearing just before they reached the audience. Darla had changed in to a new outfit. The top was like a bikini top, black with metallic pieces dangling from it. The bottom was a long black split skirt decorated with metallic pieces like the top. She wore black and white striped leggings and matching long sleeved gloves. Her feet were bare. They danced toward each other in an almost intimate manner, Rufus using moves from a traditional raptor mating dance, crossing paths briefly, as Rufus's claws lightly grazed over Darla's side. Darla ran one hand over Rufus's side before she took to the posts and Rufus swayed over to the raised platform.

  
_"She's a killer! She's a thriller! Spookshow Baby! She's a killer! She's a thriller! Yeah Spookshow Baby!_ " Rufus snapped at Darla as she began to dance in a creepy but alluring way from post to post, keeping her balance with ease. As she danced, an unstable looking sphere of fire joined her, following the morons of her hands, playing between them. Rufus then picked up a peculiar metal caged ball with his mouth. He flicked a piece with one of his claws, causing a flame to ignite inside the caged ball. Carefully he tossed the ball up and began a routine of toss, catch, balance, and spin. Sometimes he would catch it on his nose and balance it. Other times he would catch it on his tail and make it roll down his body to his head where he would toss it up again.

  
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-Why use mating dance? Can't mate with soft not prey...right?- Blue chittered as she watched the dance. Owen ignored her question, not comfortable with the answer himself. Thankfully the girls were in a chatty mood.

  
-Male raptors strange.- Charlie sniffed loudly before tilting her snout toward the screen.  
-Glad Alpha Owen not like Strange Male.- Delta nosed Owen.

  
-Strange but nice.- Echo chittered leaving the statement open to interpretation.

  
"It is weird and dangerous too. Between the fire and all those claws and teeth. Definitely not the easiest or safest." Owen replied, unsure how to feel about it.

  
-Wouldn't be dangerous. Alpha Owen safe to dance with us. Maybe could do better?- Blue looked over at Owen, sending shivers down his spine, with the way she stared at him.

  
"...Mmm maybe..." Owen replied with a pause.

  
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_"Bright glove, mad love; A movin' all over you yeah; Psycho man yes; I can do it all over for you yeah."_ As the song drew closer to the end, Rufus leapt over Darla. He turned and held his snout up. He opened his jaws with a hiss as Darla leapt off one of the higher posts. Just a split moment before she landed a one handed hand stand on his snout he closed his jaws. Darla flipped down and the two went to separate dark boxes.

  
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"I don't know how anyone can feel safe being that close to free walking snapping jaws. Let alone those claws." Vivian stated as she watch the big screen in the security room.  
"Anyone else mildly hot and bothered by this?" Lowery asked with a short glance around the room. He sighed when no one responded and went back to watching the strange dancing on screen.

  
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The fog thickened but stayed low. The walls images changed again, this time showing shadows of chain like strands swaying side to side over a low wave of flames. The two stepped out of their dark boxes, Darla adorning a new blank and red corset dress wrapped loosely in chain.

  
_"I torture you; Take my hand through the flames; I torture you; I'm a slave to your games; I'm just a sucker for pain; I wanna chain you up; I wanna tie you down; I'm just a sucker for pain..."_ A peculiar contemporary styled dance began. The dance was both intimate and rough. The two met in the middle of the area and Rufus nipped at the end of the chain that was around Darla. With claws and teeth he stepped back and unraveled the chain around Darla. She spun back from the loosening chains before tumble dancing forward. Just as her body passed Rufus's, he turned and caught her with the tips of his claws and pulled her back. Rufus pulled her close, bending his head down so it would rest against her chest. He let her go and as she bent backwards Rufus ran his clawed hand down the front of her outfit. Once his clawed hand caught part of her outfit he pulled her up. The two continued to dance a strange, as intimate as you can get between a raptor and human, contemporary styled dance. Blasts of lighted energy swirled up through the fog in fire like colors around the two.

  
_"I'm devoted to destruction; A full dosage of detrimental dysfunction; I'm dying slow but the devil tryna rush me; See I'm a fool for pain, I'm a dummy; Might cut my head off right after I slit my throat..."_ Darla backed away from Rufus. And to the story of the lyrics made a realistic looking show of slicing her throat, appearing to bleed.

  
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And there it was. The adult content. Definitely violent. Definitely dirty dancing. Claire watched, in awe and amusement. It was strange, but not in a bad way. She wondered if Owen was watching this and what he thought of it. This could actually be useful for drawing in an older crowd. It would make the park more edgy than the typical zoo or theme park.

  
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_"So I don't fear shit but tomorrow; And I'm a sucker for pain, it ain't nothing but pain; You just fuckin' complain, you ain't tough as you claim..."_ Unfazed by the sudden violent act, the two continued on with their strange dance, utilizing all of the open space. Brief passes with light touches, all the way to near violent pulls - where Rufus would grab Darla by a nearby limb and guide her in a different direction. The remainder of the dance became more and more intense until the music ended.

  
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Darla smiled as she turned away from Rufus and pulled out of his grasp. He wuffled before turning as well. The two faced the large crowd and bowed. The crowd clapped and cheered, well amused by the craziness of the long performance.

  
"Thank you all for stopping by and watching! I hope you all enjoyed the performance. And don't worry, it wasn't real blood, and no one was really injured. Hopefully we will be back again for some more fun!" Darla addressed the crowd, also showing she was uninjured. Rufus barked and spun around, showing he was ok.

  
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Owen stopped by Claire's office in the morning with some coffee and breakfast. While the first date hadn't gone over too well, they were still willing to give it another try. Just this time, they'd try to get to know each other better first. Owen learned breakfast was important to most diets, or at least to the one Claire was on, and coffee was necessary to keep the day moving. And he found out by bringing such helped Claire get ahead on a few morning tasks. She didn't have to waste the time to tell someone to go get it and wait, nor did she have to go get it herself. Usually the mornings were so busy, that no one had time to go get something to eat. Zara was already knees deep in handling the low to moderate priority tasks, while Claire started with the high priority tasks.  
"Sleep well?" Owen asked as he carefully placed the coffee and food on the desk. He grabbed his coffee and muffin.

  
"Well enough. That show though..." Claire sipped her coffee before resuming her comport work. Owen sat in the chair across from her.  
"It was something else. Definitely won't be letting the girls watch that kind again." Owen stated with a shake off his head. Claire paused in mid chew of her breakfast wrap before swallowing.  
"What did they do?" Claire looked up with an amused smile. Owen sipped his coffee and sighed.  
"Just some really odd questions..." Owen frowned before stuffing a muffin in his mouth. Questions he really didn't want to explain, nor did he want to think about.  
"Like what? They wanna dance?" Claire chucked before typing the rest of the email.  
"Kind of. Apparently part of Rufus's dance was an actual raptor mating dance display." Owen replied while leaving out what Blue had asked last night. And she sure did ask a lot more questions after the performance ended.  
"Well it made sense for what they were doing. Though if the girls want to participate in some dance stuff-" Claire started to say.  
"Not going to happen." Owen stopped her before the idea escaped and could become real. There would be no way he was going to let his girls get involved in some crazy kind of dancing with a male raptor.

  
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Darla smiled after hanging up the phone. It was going to be bitter sweet to go home. She loved and missed her family, but it was nice to get away from everything. She really did want to come back. It would be good pay, almost double what she was making now. And who wouldn't want to work at a theme park full of dinosaurs?  
"Ok Rufus, everything packed up? We can go enjoy a nice walk if you want?" Darla asked as she stuffed a suitcase closed and zipped it up. Rufus trotted into the living room area and chirruped.  
-Always ready. And yes. Nothing left to pack. A walk would be nice.- Rufus tilted his head.  
"Sweet. We don't leave until later this afternoon, so we have some time to enjoy the park and shop. Let's find something nice to bring home."  
Darla brought the suitcases to the front of the living area before grabbing a small backpack. She motioned to Rufus, who followed her. The two stepped out the door, letting it close behind them softly. They spent the morning walking around the park, checking various gift shops for the perfect item to bring home, as well as viewing some of the attractions that didn't involve going indoors.

 

 


	8. Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What kind of fun awaits Darla and Rufus on their return to Jurassic World?  
> -Oh mild swearing at the end.-

**Chapter 8 Return**

"People Talk"

-Dino/Thought Talk-

Darla and Rufus kept the good byes short as they left Jurassic World. They hadn't really mingled with a lot of the personal there so it was easy enough to slip out. Perhaps if they returned, they would work on getting to know more people.  Rufus had to be partially sedated to get him on the boat. He wasn't thrilled about getting back onto the rocking giant and he made sure to let everyone know. That's what earned him the sedative. Thankfully he was just awake enough to get on the plane once they got to the  main land. The flight itself was calm enough since he was still partially sedated and there was not a lot of people on board. Darla really hoped they would be returning.

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"Mommy!" Lottie ran full speed toward the entry way as Darla and Rufus stepped inside. James laughed as Darla barely had time to close the door behind her and turn before the child threw herself into Darla's arms. They had been waiting in the entryway since Darla had texted James that she and Rufus had landed.  Not even a minute passed before the little girl backed away and then threw herself at Rufus. Short enough, she wrapped her arms as far as they would reach around Rufus's torso. The raptor carefully patted her back as he wuffled. He leaned his snout down to her head and took a deep sniff of the child's hair. James made his way over and gave Darla a kiss and hug. James then grabbed her suitcase and bag.

"How was the ride back?" James smiled as he pulled the suitcase and bag into the parlor.

"Eh boring. They actually had to sedate Rufus. That was interesting to say the least. Other than that, nothing noteworthy. How was everything at home?" Darla followed after taking a look back at Rufus and Lottie. The two stood staring at each other before Lottie tapped Rufus's side and ran off giggling into the kitchen. The raptor trilled before trotting slowly after Lottie. Thus began their playful chase through the house.

"What are you going to do if they want to hire you? I highly doubt they are going to pay for travel daily or weekly." James asked with a sigh. He really didn't want her to leave for long periods of time and he didn't want to move either. His job was stable, and she was the one who usually dealt with taking care of Lottie while he worked. It had been a long week with her away.

"If they do hire us, it'll be a better pay than the dance school and several of the private venue works. They'd actually include pay for Rufus, under my name of course, since he's a raptor. If I read correctly, if we do get hired it would be a bi-weekly thing unless we choose to move there. You can rest or take shorter shifts when we are away. And hell, in the summer or during her school vacation time we can all be there. After a bit, we can even get some tickets for our friends to check it out. This is pretty cool. Besides, Rufus gets to see other dinosaurs." Darla explained pulling James into a hug.

"If it'll make you happy and pay the bills... I'm sure we can work something out." James shook his head with a smile and kissed Darla.

"I know Lottie will be a bit sad at first, but I promise to call each night and in the morning. And I think once she visits, she will love the idea. She'll have one of the coolest moms ever." Darla smiled and stepped back. The two grabbed a bag and made their way upstairs. Just as they got to the top of the stairs, Lottie and Rufus ran down the stairs and into the living room.

"Hey! Take it easy on the stairs! I don't need either of you getting hurt!" Darla yelled out to them, only to get a giggle and wuffle in response. She shook her head as her and James brought the luggage to their laundry room.

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Claire bit her lip as she read over the weekly numbers. There had been the average amount of expenditure, with a slight steady increase in profit as the week came to an end. They wouldn't be ready to show the new attractions for at least a week. A few more things needed to be inspected and they were in the process of organizing a group of possible sponsors. Mr. Masrani had also scheduled a visit this coming week. He wanted to see how the animals were doing, check on their latest project, and he wanted to know more about this dancing raptor-human duo that caused quite the few stirs. She finished reading through the paperwork and double checked her emails before closing the laptop. She put her laptop in the desk drawer and locked it before pushing back her chair and standing up. After a quick check around her office she picked up her briefcase and made her way out of the office building.  She'd make her phone calls in the morning.

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-Strange dances that Rufus does. Strange stories. Is interesting, could be fun.- Blue chittered at the girls as they trotted around the paddock. They were doing a territory patrol. Even if nothing would normally be out of place, it made them feel better to see that everything was fine.

-Says he stays inside with Not Prey...Strange is right. Must be nice.- Echo wuffled while looking around for signs of trouble.

-Can we dance? Dance would be nice.- Charlie trilled and bounced a bit as she trotted.

-Dance with Alpha would be fun. Can not see Alpha try mating dance.- Delta snorted and shook her head.

-Do not think Alpha wants to dance...but maybe dance with Rufus...- Blue chittered again, though she kept the last part quiet. Charlie trilled, having caught part of the last part. Blue paused to stare at her, daring her to say something. When Charlie did not, she trotted past her.

-Been long time since Alpha let us inside. Since hatchlings. Want to go inside. Miss soft nest.- Echo chittered looking for the sound of footsteps.

"Eyes on me." The familiar voice of their Alpha called to them. The girls stopped and looked up to their Alpha.

"Very good." Owen replied and began to toss each one a snack, calling their names.

-Alpha...We want to dance.- Blue trilled after swallowing her treat. Owen visibly paled.

"What? Why?" He asked, not sure if he wanted the answer.

-Interesting. Saw dances. Want to try.- Blue tilted her head. Owen shook his head. The other girls chittered quietly in agreement.

"I really don't want to dance." Owen frowned. He leaned on the rail and looked down at his girls. It was a mix of things that made him not like the idea.

-Alpha can not dance?- Charlie chirruped almost mockingly. The girls nodded among themselves. Owen stiffened as he stood up straight. It really would give people the wrong impression. Like people, each raptor has their own personality, not all would be inclined to play along. Hell, whatever they did genetics-wise to make these raptors more receptive to bonding, and the strange level of bonded communication might not be fully reproducible. It might make them seem more friendly, but it wouldn't stop full instinct or simple stubbornness. They know they are stronger, it's only a level of respect and curiosity to play along, that keeps everyone else safe. They minute they don't want to play nice it's done. What ever was done to Darla's raptor was more than questionable. It was already odd that a raptor was allowed out of this park without all kinds of questioning.

"It's not that. I just don't want to make you girls perform like you're in a circus. You all are highly intelligent predators. It just doesn't seem right." Owen tried to explain. Delta huffed and shook her snout.

-Alpha can not dance. Is ok. We can teach.- Echo chittered, earning a reassuring nod from Blue.

"I think I'll pass. Thank you though." Owen chuckled. He had seen his girls move and even knowing they wouldn't intentionally hurt him, unless he gave them good reason to, he still wasn't ready to test their fine motor skills that up close and personal. And then there was the questionable mating dances. That was a place he really found uncomfortable. He raised them, like a father, it would be weird...but...

-Fine then, we dance, you watch...maybe learn.- Blue huffed before turning to the rest of the girls. Before Owen could get a word out, the girls began to bob and sway to a strange little dance. He couldn't help but laugh. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

 

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Darla was thrilled. She received the phone call she was waiting for this morning. She would be leaving again with Rufus in two days. If the first week went well, after all the big visits, then her child and husband would be invited out for the second week. From now on they would be working the 8th to the 21st every month. They would arrive on the 7th, and leave on the 22nd. They had a lot to prepare for over the next couple days before leaving.

Rufus had spent his time following Lottie around each day when she came home from school. Darla was sure Lottie was also receptive to the dinosaur’s telempathic speech - images and emotions translated into thought. James read the body language well, but she was sure he didn’t share the same bond. Then again, he didn’t have a blood sample taken by them.

Lottie was sad to see her mom and Rufus leave again so soon, but she was also excited to know she’d get to visit. She gave Rufus a bunch of stickers to hold onto for her later and one of her necklaces for good luck.

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“So, I saw one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen before, the last time I checked in on the entertainer…” Owen looked up from his sandwich and smiled at Claire. He had managed to snag her away for a quick lunch break. The two sat in a corner booth, enjoying lunch in the air conditioned restaurant. Today had been a record high hot day.

“Oh? Does the raptor eat at the dinner table?” Claire raised an eyebrow and sipped her water. They were odd as is. What else could make them stranger?

“I don’t know. But they had some crazy weird stuff all over the place in the townhouse. It was like an image out of a movie about witches and magic. They had some odd music playing and candles and what looked like spell books all over the place. Oh. And they where wearing some odd costumes. It was really weird. I actually had to just leave.” Owen described what he could remember from the odd day. He took a bite of his sandwich before shaking his head. The entertainers where an odd pair.

“Peculiar indeed. Do you think she practices some kind of magic? Or thinks herself to be a witch?” Claire laughed and then picked up a fork full of salad.

“Maybe? Or she just has really weird taste.” Owen shrugged as he sipped his soda.

"They'll be coming back later this week. Why don't you ask?" Claire smiled.

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Rufus wuffled as the two stepped into the townhouse hotel. This one was similar to the one they stayed in last time but it was further away from the others on a nice little dead end road. The ruckus they made last time earned them a spot away from other ears. That was fine with Darla. Privacy is nice. Not that she even can tenet what privacy is. Living with a child, a curious raptor and a lovey-dovey husband means no privacy at all. Granted, it wasn't all that bad. At least she's loved, and that’s one thing she won’t complain about. 

"This is awesome. Are you excited for the first run tomorrow? It’s going to be interesting.  We've got like 6 hours of shows. I think we are breaking them down into two hour runs, where we have four twenty to twenty five minute shows - giving us about five to ten minutes between to fix things up." Darla turned and closed the door.

-Is fine. Happy.- Rufus chittered before grabbing a bag in his mouth and trotting into the living room.  Darla lifted her bag and brought it up stairs. Rufus dropped the bag and wuffled as he turned to follow  Darla up stairs. He watched quietly as she began putting away her false skins in the closet. He waited until she was nearly done before snagging one of the smaller false skins. He trilled as he trotted out of the room.

“Rufus! Give that back! That is not a toy!” Darla yelped as she realized he had taken one of her bras. He answered with another trill and kept trotting, making his way down the hall. Darla sighed and followed after him. She did not need to have him running outside with one of her bras! Rufus stopped to look back at her before taking off downstairs.

“Oh you. Come back here! I need that. You don’t wear bras. You don’t even have boobs. Rufus!” Darla yelled as she ran after him. A thud told her that he had made it to the bottom of the staircase. A loud trill told her that he had found the spot he was looking for. She grumbled to herself as she made her way down the stairs and into the living room area. There was no point in running. It's not like she could catch up to him anyway.

-What is wrong? You want?- Rufus was sitting in the middle of the living room area, passing the article of clothing back and forth between his front claws, inspecting it. He sniffed the false skin and then shook his snout. What an odd false skin. It was soft, smelled nice, but weird at the same time.

“Yes. That’s mine. You aren’t supposed to take my clothes. I make you your own.” Darla walked up to him and held out her hand. She watched him as he continued to hold and inspect the article of clothing. He paused for a moment and turned toward the bag on the floor. With a quick ruffle through the bag, he managed to pull out a sticker sheet. Carefully and with great effort, he picked off a sticker on the tip of one of his claws. He turned and stuck the sticker on Darla. Darla looked down and read the sticker - ‘Great Try! Better Luck Next Time!’.

“Really? Really Rufus?” Darla sighed and reached for her bra. She carefully pulled the tangled bra out from clawed hands.

-What?- He chittered, letting her take the clothing without fuss. He mused over her actions. It was fun to watch her become mildly upset. He even dared to call her actions…cute. He waited for her to take a step back before pushing his snout into her chest and resting the flat of his head against her.

“You took my bra and now you want to snuggle? You’re such a goof.” She rubbed his neck, getting an almost purr like sound from the raptor.

-Smells nice.- Rufus chirruped quietly, well as quietly as a raptor can.

“Why don’t we go exploring? Stretch our legs a bit after all the sitting we’ve done today.” Darla smiled as Rufus stepped back and stood straight again. She walked over to the bag, pulled out a guitar shaped case, and slung it over her shoulders.

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With a good bit of wandering, and strange luck, Rufus and Darla, find themselves in front of a large, still being constructed paddock. It seems as though the work crew is on break as no one is around. They exchanged a quick glance, and the two made their way up into the viewing area of the paddock.

“What’cha think is inside?” Darla looked around the empty viewing area. She would have assumed someone would be here watching out or monitoring, but it was oddly deserted. Rufus was busy sniffing around the glass, occasionally glancing out into the paddock.

-Something. Smells odd. Like hatchlings you visited. Also smells like blood. And death.- Rufus continued to sniff around with a sense of unease about him.

“Maybe it is the hatchlings. I don’t know how soon they’d go into a paddock…and they are carnivorous, so there would be blood and death.” Darla sat down in front of the center window and set her guitar case down beside her.

-Blood yes. But death no. Smells sick. Sick death. Very faint now, was stronger outside.- Rufus turned slightly to face her, but kept one eye focused on the paddock windows.

“Well that’s not good.” Darla sighed. She opened the guitar case and pulled out her double neck guitar/bass. With a smile she started to sing and play. After a few moments, Rufus settled down beside her, still watching the tree line in the paddock. Toward the end of the song, there’s movement along the tree line, and a large white-gray head pokes out. The large head tilts, upward, taking a heavy sniff. There’s a low rumble, as the dinosaur steps forward, peering into the window. Rufus barks and stands up next to Darla. She continues on, picking a different song to sing and play to. The large white dinosaur chittered loudly, the sound vibrating through the room.  

-Who are you? What are you doing with KindVoice?- The large white dinosaur eye searched the room and focused on Darla.

-Is Rufus. And this is DancingAlpha, my Alpha. How do you know DancingAlpha?- Rufus’s claws flexed as he chittered back.

-KindVoice visited sister and I in hatching room…couple of times…- A low rumble escaped the white dinosaur’s jaws, as she seemed to correct the raptor's choice of name.

-Where is sister?- Rufus looked around the tree line, searching for another big white dinosaur, but saw none.

-Gone. Many angry SoftPrey entered. Took dead sister away.- The large white dinosaur looked behind her for a moment before staring back at the duo in the viewing room.

-Sorry to hear. Was sick?- Rufus inquired with a wuffle. While still fully alert, he sat back and waited for a response. Darla’s song was almost over.

-Very. SoftPrey took too long to notice. And too long to find. Was already rotting when taken. Very Angry.- She growled at no one in particular, simply showing her frustration. It wasn’t fair or nice. The SoftPrey barely interacted with her and her sister. In fact, the only real interaction they had that was positive was from KindVoice. But KindVoice had left, and things only got worse. They got pokes and a long wet sleep before being dumped into the big paddock. Both were shocked by their sudden new size. One had not grown well into this new large size, either SoftPrey did not notice or SoftPrey did not care. After the first FeedMe SoftPrey died, no one else would come into the paddock. The only time they saw someone was when FatSoftPrey would eat at the control desk by the view box, or when a small group of SoftPrey would come, stare through the view box and leave. No one tried talking to them, no one noticed when one became ill. No one noticed her death until the smell of rotting flesh was over powering.

-So wrong. Is sad.- Rufus wuffled again, softly. Darla put down the instrument and smiled at the large white dinosaur. The large female tilted her head toward the smiling face.

-Her sister is dead. Explains sick smell.- Rufus chittered toward Darla.

"Wow. That's...terrible…they were so cute and lively the last time I saw them…a lot smaller too. How is she doing?" Darla asked, while she could understand Rufus to a degree, she didn't have that bond with the large white dinosaur.

-You can ask.- Rufus wuffled.

-Why does KindVoice ask you and not me?- The white dinosaur grumbled, mildly frustrated.

"Actually, I, um,  can't understand her. I can only hear you. And I was singing and playing, so I really didn't catch your part of the conversation." Darla replied with a sad shrug.

-She can hear you. Odd… Ask her. I will help.- Rufus turned and looked back at the large white dinosaur.

-DancingAlpha does not understand you.  She can understand me. She has questions. I will tell her what you say.- Rufus explained with a short series of barks. The large white dinosaur huffed.

"Well…  Lets start with a bit of formality…How about a name, do you have a name?" Darla asked looking over at the large white dinosaur. Darla was still amazed at how big she had grown in such a short time.

-No. What is name?- The large dinosaur exhaled slowly.

-She has no name.- Rufus chittered to Darla. Darla folded her arms as she looked over the large dinosaur. She took a moment to think. White like a foggy mist...

"Hmm... Kasumi. I'll call you Kasumi." Darla looked the large white dinosaur in the eyes. The dinosaur hummed.

-Ka..sumi...sounds nice. Will be Kasumi. Will you visit more? Is lonely here. What is your...name?- Kasumi asked, knowing the other dinosaur would translate.

-She likes the name. Wants to know if you will visit more and what your name is.- Rufus huffed and shuffled his clawed feet.

“My name is Darla. This here is Rufus. And I’m glad you like the name Kasumi. Sure, we can visit more. We don’t live on the island, we’re only here for a little while before we leave. But we will be coming back more often.” Darla smiled at Kasumi. The large dinosaur leaned closer to glass windows and sniffed at them. Still smiling, Darla moved closer to the glass and placed her hand on it.

-KindVoice is a better name. Should be KindVoice.- Kasumi wuffled with a low rumble, moving her snout close to where Darla’a hand was placed. Rufus shook his snout and inched closer to Darla. He rested his head on her shoulder, watching the large white dinosaur carefully.

-She already calls you KindVoice. Thinks it is better name. But you are DancingAlpha, you are Darla.- Rufus huffed. Darla laughed, as she looked back and forth between the two dinosaurs.

“It’s fine. I will just have one really long name. As long as I’m not Late-For-Dinner, it’s all good. I think it’s cute, and kind of funny to get to know what others call me. It’s definitely nicer that I’d expect from most.” Darla replied and scratched Rufus’s neck.

-Need scratches. Want scratches.- Kasumi barked, pulling away from the glass window.

-Kasumi requests scratches. Can not scratch through viewing box…- Rufus wuffled pulling away from Darla and staring at the glass.

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“Now that. That is different. She doesn’t respond well to anyone. Should I grab security?” Lowery watched as Darla and her raptor seemed to be holding a conversation with the Indominus Rex.

“They’re not doing anything terribly wrong. It’s not an open venue, but they do work here.” Vivian looked over at Lowery briefly before turning back to her own screen.

Lowery continued to watch the strange three way conversation, intrigued by the sudden calmness in the larger dinosaur. Compared to how she interacted in the past with people, it was confusing enough, but it was nice. He was glad she wasn’t the rampaging monster that they had wanted her to be. Making new dinosaurs to be bigger, scarier and with more teeth wasn’t exactly the company’s best idea. Anything could go wrong, it was merely a matter of time.

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“I’ve got a wonderfully terrible idea. I saw something earlier.” Darla turned and picked up her double neck guitar. She placed it in it’s carrying case, swung it over her shoulder, and then turned back to the two dinosaurs. They stared back at her, waiting for her to explain.

“As long as you promise not to eat me, I can give you scratches. I really like living, even on the tough bad days.” Darla looked Kasumi in the eyes. The large dinosaur huffed.

-Why would I eat KindVoice? I can not hear KindVoice if I eat her.- Kasumi growled at the terrible idea.

-I don’t think she wants to eat you…Should be fine.- Rufus chittered. He watched for a moment as Darla headed toward the exit.

-Looks like she has a plan- Rufus barked toward the large dinosaur before trotting after Darla. He watched as she stopped halfway down the stairs. Darla looked the structure up and down, her eyes followed the railing, looking for a good path up. With a quiet chuckle she hoisted herself up onto the railing, balancing carefully as she walked to where it met the wall. She reached up the side of the wall, fingers barely reaching the edge of the room wall.

“I wasn’t planning on scaling a paddock today. Didn’t bring my gloves and I don’t feel like breaking my neck. Hey Rufus, I need a bit of a lift.” She looked over at Rufus, who gave a low wuffle before walking over. Darla hopped off the railing, took off her shoes, then climbed back up onto the railing. Upon reaching Darla, he leaned forward a bit, allowing Darla to step onto his back. He raised himself up and with an ‘oof’ from Darla, she was able to pull herself up.

“Thanks! You coming along?” Darla looked down at Rufus. He huffed, before springing up.

-Can not let you meet large dinosaur alone. Might be dangerous.- Rufus chittered.

“How sweet…coming along to make sure I don’t get eaten. You are too cute.” Darla chuckled before making her way to the next wall. Up she hoisted herself, and carefully over onto the top of the viewing room. Rufus trotted over to the wall and hopped up. He looked down, and with care to not squish Darla, he hopped down beside her.

“Helllllooooooo! I’ve come to give you scratches!!!!” Darla yelled, looking over the edge of the ledge. Rufus sniffed the air, and watched the tree line closely. Merely seconds later, the trees seemed to melt and the large white dinosaur came into view.

-Took long enough. Though everyone left.- Kasumi walked slowly over to the viewing box ledge. Rufus huffed and pushed himself against Darla.

-She is smartass. Cheeky smartass. Pretended to think we left. Took too long.- Rufus chirruped softly to Darla. She chuckled and rubbed Rufus’s snout. She reached out her other hand.

“Good. She has a sense of humor. We’ll get along just fine.” Darla smiled and waited as the large dinosaur made her way over.

 

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Lowery nearly spit his drink out all over his computer screen as the video feed from Paddock 11 scrolled back into view. He had been checking other feeds, and hadn’t expected anyone with a sane mind to be climbing into the Indominus Rex Paddock. He held his breath as the woman standing on the edge of the top of the viewing room reached out her hand to scratch the side of the giant white dinosaur’s head. Even if he called security, they would arrive too late, there wouldn’t be anything left to retrieve. All he could do was watch.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of reconnecting, some dance fun, slow build story.   
> Sorry it's so late. Had a bit of writers block on top of a busy week. And I'm terrible at these summaries.

Chapter 9: Let’s Get Dancing…And Stuff  
-Dino Speak-  
“People Speak”

It turned out that no one needed to call security. Thankfully. The three continued a lengthy conversion, dotted with various emotional levels, and a few moments that made those who were watching hold their breath. But in the end, Kasumi did not try to eat Darla or Rufus, though she was not thrilled when they left.   
She paced around after they left, looking for something to do. The paddock was boring. No enrichment to stimulate her mind drove her mad. All she had was time. Time that would be used to ponder a plan of escape. There had to be better things to do outside these empty walls. Hell, if KindVoice and her companion were allowed to walk free, why couldn't she?   
Lowery decided to record and save the strange interactions between the three. At the very least, this video would be interesting to show Owen. He always had an eye for what might be important later on, and this seemed pretty important.

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“So, they want to learn a dance?” Darla smiled at the now cringing Owen. He still hasn't come to terms with how he felt about a particular blue raptor. They were standing on the catwalk above the raptor paddock. Darla was fully dressed up in one of her frilly, puffy dresses. Rufus was leaning over the edge, looking down at the female raptors as they ran around the paddock. The female raptors stopped just below the catwalk and looked up, cautiously watching the group above them.

“It seems so. They won’t stop asking about it. It’s been...interrupting training now.” Owen shook his head as he explained. He really didn’t believe the girls should be an attraction at the park. They are too intelligent, and it would only be a matter of time before something went wrong. Even allowing Rufus to walk around was dangerous enough, a whole pack would be insane. It’s not that he didn’t trust them, he just didn’t want to put them in a situation where instinct would win. They’d be put down, no questions asked if something went wrong. And he did not want to loose his girls.   
The girls began chittering among themselves while occasionally glancing up at the group. Owen pushed back the bits and pieces of their conversation, not really wanting to eavesdrop, although he still caught enough to know that they were excited about the possibility of learning this ‘dance’. 

“Do you have anything in particular in mind?” Darla asked while looking around. It hadn’t started to warm up yet, today looked to be a little on the cooler side. Considering it was almost always hot, this was a nice change. It would make this little dance lesson a lot more comfortable. She smiled, watching Owen’s uneasiness with each of the questions. 

“Not really…nothing…adult. This is a family park.” Owen replied, stealing a quick glance at Rufus. Rufus was leaning his head over the railing, wuffling something as quietly as a raptor could whisper, down to the girls. From their reactions, it seemed as though they liked what he had said. It seemed like now, they chose to quiet their thoughts, making it much harder to hear what all the new chatter was about. Owen wasn’t sure if he should be thankful for the near silence or be worried. Raptors were smart, but often like children, where there was silence, there was trouble.

“You dancing too or not?” Darla looked over at Owen and she had to hide a laugh. His eyes widened for a moment as there was a short bark from Delta, followed by a low wuffle from Charlie. 

“Nah. I’m not really up for dancing right now. Let's get their stuff down first, we can worry about me later.” Owen shook his head. He shot a quick look at his girls. They were eyeing him curiously, almost daring him. 

“Hm…alright. I think I’ve got something.You ready to help?” Darla looked over to Rufus. Rufus chittered and motioned his head toward the female raptors. He was happy to help today, especially if it meant he got to play with the other raptors. He barked before leaping into the paddock. They took their time sniffing and poking at Rufus, until a growl from Blue sent Charlie, Delta and Echo back a good distance. Rufus trilled, and immediately received a trill back from Blue. Darla hopped up onto the railing and observed the raptors below. Own shook his head. 

“Let’s see, we should try something easy to follow first. Rufus, do you remember this one?" Darla raised her hands up beside her head, slightly waving them side to side as she open and closed them. Her body naturally swayed side to side with the silly hand motions.   
The pack of female raptors looked from Darla to Rufus, waiting for some kind of response. Rufus wuffled before doing his best to mimic the motion. He brought his clawed hands up beside his snout, while flexing his claws and tilting his head side to side, and wiggled his tail side to side. Owen covered his mouth, hiding a short chuckle. The female raptors blinked and tiled their heads. Rufus huffed with a short bob, barely inturrupting his little dance. Surprisingly, it was Charlie who decided to try first. It took a few awkward movements, as she tried to see the meaning behind the motions, before she flexed her claws by her head and swung her tail. After several glances between the rest of the girls, they slowly started to join in. Each one added their own little twist to it. Charlie added a bobbing motion to the sway. Deltas moves were more dramatic and longer drawn. Echo figure eighted her tail as she swung it. Blue looked at Rufus, watched him, then looked up at Darla. With a light trill, she drew her claws up to the side of her head, copied both the swaying and slightly twisting motion of Darla's upper body and the hip swaying-knee bending motion, while opening and closing her clawed hands.   
"Well I'll be damned. She's dancing and actually listening to someone else." Owen nodded his head. This was a pleasant surprise. It was strangely nice. 

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"This will make a nice surprise." Darla turned and pushed the last piece of equipment into place. Rufus huffed as he paced across the stage. Darla was dressed in a short ruffle dress and knee length boots. She managed to wrap together three dark blue jingly hip scarves around Rufus's waist. He was not thrilled about it and was sure to let her know the whole time they walked there.   
"Hey. Stop that. It's gonna break." Darla waved her finger at Rufus. He paused for a moment, silver jingly coin partially in his mouth.   
-Stupid shiny. Too noisy.- He slowly let go as Darla continued to stare at him.   
The stage was fully set up for the next series of dances. She had the projector and screen in place, dark boxes off to the sides, in the center was two dance pads with short hologram display stands in front of them, and a long set of uneven bars just below the projector screen. She took a moment to look over the setup before motioning to Rufus. He tiled his head, and with a short bark made his way into one of the dark boxes. Darla made her way to the other dark box. Soon people began to make their way in, taking seats on the long benches.  
The music begins, and Darla and Rufus step out of the dark boxes and make their way quickly to the large dance pads.  
 _"We wonder are you ready to join us now? Hands in the air, we will show you how. Come and try, Caramell will be your guide..."_ The projector screen turns on, showing Owen’s four raptors dancing to the song, as Darla and Rufus began dancing on the giant dance pads.   
The crowd seemed to enjoy the silly dance, there was excited chit chat at the end of the song. 

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"Owen?" A voice blipped in over a radio.   
"Yes?" Owen replied, looking up from the now cleaned holding pen.  
"Why didn't you tell anyone that your raptors can dance?" Lowery loudly whispered over the radio.   
"I didn't think any one would mind. Besides they just learned how." Own smiled looking over at the napping raptors.   
"It's nice to know. Cute for dangerous predators. You know Hoskins is going to have a field day with that." Lowery chuckled.  
"Just because they learned to mimic a dance does not mean they'll make great weapons of war. They did so because they wanted to, not because I told them to." Owen groaned at the very idea. The last thing he wanted was for the to be a mass production of raptors for war. He did his best to keep his connection with his girls off the radar. The more people understood them as dangerous predators, the less likely they'd be used. Even if their intelligence was closer to that of humans, there was nothing protecting them from being used as tools. For now, it was better this way. Safer for everyone. 

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"So, had anyone been able to find out where she got this raptor? There was not a lot of information on the background paperwork. There was a sealed official contract of ownership, but there were no details on the larger pay involved." Masrani looked around the table. He had brought in Ms Dearing and Dr. Wu for a quick meeting.  
"We do not have anything missing from here. And considering it is male and does not have any recent markings, it would have to be something that escaped from the old island." Dr. Wu folded his arms. Everything had been accounted for in both sections. And he'd recognize the markings if it was something from here. Every geneticist had their own style of branding that isn't exactly noticeable to everyone else.   
"While we have the best geneticists here, it could be possible that someone has picked up on raptor development..." Claire looked over at Masrani with a frown.   
"Perhaps, but I've been buying out large competitors and we have so many patents it would be near impossible to replicate our studies." Masrani replied.  
"If we can get him into the lab, we could run a few tests?" Dr. Wu looked over to Masrani with a smile. There'd be a lot to learn, just from a simple DNA test.   
"That would be fine. In sure there's plenty of reasons to have him come in for a visit. Wellness checks are important. And if we do have a competitor, we need to find out who." Masrani nodded.  
"I'll set something up." Claire replied.


	10. Crazy Raptor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Song reference for the dance:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1iAG572Dus  
> Dress used for the dance: http://www.japanattitude.fr/images/RQBL0238d.jpg

**Chapter 10**  
Darla sat in the plastic chair swinging her legs as she waited. She had gotten a call this morning to bring Rufus in for a wellness check. It was strongly suggested that he be seen since he was around lots of new people and dinosaurs. Being that they were not on the mainland and the regular doctor who saw Rufus was not available, Darla was a bit nervous. Obviously they worked with dinosaurs, so it wasn't like they didn't know what to do. It simply made her nervous. She didn't know how well he'd behave or if this would affect the contract at all. Rufus looked up at her from the contraption he was set it. The doctors here took safety seriously, and a simple, yet sturdy restraint system, held Rufus still in the middle of the white room. He huffed a long drawn out sigh. It was clear how he felt. She didn't need to feel it, it was clearly visible. 

"I know. I know. I'm not thrilled either. But it does make sense. Can't have you catching something peculiar from those you haven't be around before, you know?" Darla spoke out loud as she pushed herself out of the chair and made her way over to pat Rufus's side. He calmed slightly under her touch. It wasn't long until a white cloaked doctor stepped in with a tray of items. Rufus tensed again, a low hiss escaped his jaws. 

"Doctor Stephan. I'll be handling Rufus's visit today. A routine checkup and a small draw of blood to make sure he hasn't contracted anything." The older man held out his hand for a brief shake to Darla. 

"Darla. Rufus isn't particularly fond of visits involving shots..." Darla shook the man's hand and watched as he made his way around Rufus. The doctor stopped by the counter and set the tray down. He picked up a tool and stepped over to Rufus.

"They never are. He looks healthy. You take care of him yourself?" Doctor Stephan asked as he ran his hand over the raptor's side. He stopped be the raptor's restrained head and peered into his eye. Rufus stared back, unblinking.

"Well yes. He lives in my house. He does have a vet, which he sees twice a year." Darla replied. With a nod the doctor moved on to checking the raptor's mouth cautiously. Rufus huffed and tried pushing the doctor’s fingers away with his tongue.

"In your house? Unrestrained?" The doctor stepped back and looked over to Darla. 

"Yes, with my daughter and fiance. He's always been able to roam the house freely. Well, almost freely. Child and raptor proofing the house was a hell of a task. We have a few rooms neither one is allowed in. He’s very curious, but he likes to please. It didn’t take long for him to understand what is and is not acceptable behavior. Thankfully we haven’t had an incident yet." Darla smiled. 

"That's...terrifying. And food, what do you normally feed him?" The doctor turned to his tray and began unpacking a large syringe. Rufus's eye followed the doctor's movements. A low growl escaped his closed jaws. Ignoring the growl, the doctor made his way to the raptor's side. The doctor was quick, stepping well out of reach once done, but Rufus was not thrilled. He squirmed, growling and hissing, as he tried to pull himself free of the restraint system. 

“A wide variety of meats. We get shipments in each week with three or four different kinds of meat. Cow, venison, chicken, boar, lamb, bison, rabbit, duck, and turkey. Sometimes we get some fish too. He’s got a few large bones he likes to chew on. We keep him well fed.” Darla smiled as she recited the list.

"I see. Not bad. You might want to consider talking to some of the dietary aids here at the park. They might be able to help you expand the menu. You can leave him in there as long as needed, until he calms down at least, it's a sturdy device." The doctor sighed as he collected up the blood into a container and tossed the syringe into the disposal bin.   
Darla frowned when she looked over at Rufus. She made her way around to Rufus’s snout. With a quick flick and swipe, she undid the locks on the head restraint. Rufus snapped his jaws and tilted his head to the side. Turning his head, he barked at the doctor, snapping his jaws together. The doctor let out a short surprised yelp. 

"Now why would you-" He began, but stopped as he watched Darla reach up to Rufus's head and cup the raptor’s jaws. 

"Focus Rufus. It's done. You're fine. Look at me." Darla gently turned Rufus's snout to face her as she spoke quietly. His nostrils flared as he huffed and lowered his head. A quiet growl rumbled as he shook his head in small short shakes. Darla released her hold, and scratched under his chin. 

"The sooner you relax, the sooner we can go." Darla tiled her head and brought her arms to her sides. She watched and waited as Rufus slowly calmed down.

"Well then, you're free to go whenever. I'll call if anything comes up." The doctor let out a sigh of relief and stepped out with the tray and it's contents. 

-No more pricks. Did not expect. Did not want.- Rufus growled again, flexing his claws. 

"Not until your next visit." Darla smiled as she began unlatching the various restraints. Rufus stretched each body part as it became free. Once fully out, he circled around Darla, and stopped closely in front of her. He lowered his snout to her nose. 

-Next time. Is your turn. You get pricked.- Rufus huffed in her face, pausing briefly, before he backed up and looked to the door. 

"Sure thing. Since we will both be going for a visit soon, once we go back home." Darla walked to the door. Rufus huffed again.

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"Are you sure this will be OK?" Owen looked back and forth between Darla and Claire on the two videos. The cargo truck moved quickly, occasionally making the laptop bounce.

"It's not like they are all going to be there. She does well with Rufus." Darla replied with a smile. Rufus pushed himself into the frame and bobbed rapidly. His excitement was visible in his dramatic motions.

"This is a big step forward. There will be extra security. But after seeing a few videos, I feel this should be easy enough to keep contained." Claire nodded her head. 

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The stage was set with large trampolines at various heights and angles. Their edges glowed eerily under the black light's effect. A fog machine was set, cloaking the ground level of the stage in a swirling haze as soft white fog rolled off the stage and seeped into the audience. Various shaped luminescent orbs bounced from trampoline to trampoline, never leaving the stage as of held in place by some strange gravity. Darla ruffled her purple dress as she nodded to Rufus. He had been painted with glow paint and purple glittery streaks. As the music began they each jumped into a trampoline. 

_"Who let the raptor out? Well the party was nice, the party was pumpin' Yippy Aye Oh!"_ The music played as they flipped and twisted around each other from trampoline to trampoline. Those in the audience watched in awe as the two performed. 

_"With everybody having a ball, Yippy Aye Oh! But I think I hear the crazy raptors jumpin' Yippy Aye Oh! Up and Down and all on the wall, It's the crazy raptors now!_ " It was then that Blue leapt out from behind a large trampoline and joined them in their crazy jumping dance. Surprised yips and gasps passed through the crowd as they watch with even more intensity. 

" _Who let the raptors out? Who let the raptors out? Who let the raptors out? Who let the raptors out?_ " The trio bounced crazily around to the rhythm of the song. The glowing orbs followed and swirled around them.

 _"Well the party was nice, the party was pumpin', Yippy Aye Oh! With everybody having a ball, Yippy Aye Oh! But I think I hear the crazy raptors jumpin', Yippy Aye Oh! Up and down and all on the wall, It's the crazy raptors now!_ " Darla jumped to the ground while the raptors continued to bounce around. With a wave of her hand several of the luminescent orbs floated to her. They followed her hands loosely as she danced between the trampolines and jumping raptors.

" _Oh no! That raptor, he won't leave me alone! Crazy raptor won't leave me alone! Crazy raptor won't leave me! Oh no! That raptor, he won't leave me ALONE!! Crazy raptor won't leave me alone! Crazy raptor won't leave me_!" Rufus leapt down in front of the dancing Darla. With a short low bob, he moved in a rythmatic motion, following Darla's lead. The two danced together, in a pull push fashion across the stage. The orbs that followed Darla swirling around them. Blue remained among the trampolines, occasionally nipping at the glowing orbs.

" _Who let the raptors out? Who let the raptors out? Who let the raptors out? Who let the raptors out_?" Blue landed between Darla and Rufus, and turned to Rufus. The two raptors began their own dance.

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Stephan walked eagerly down the hall. Though it had only been this morning since he had dropped off the sample, he couldn’t help his curiosity.There was something peculiar about this new raptor. His behavior was unlike the raptors he had seen here. Just the raptor’s tolerance at being handled at this age was intriguing enough. If they could figure out what was done to lead to this behavioral archetype, they would be able to do so much more at the park. He opened at door near the end of the hall and walked in.

"So, how goes the DNA scan?" Stephan asked as he leaned against the wall.

"Nothing much yet. Though I've only gone through the beginning. There is a lot to sort through. Who ever coded this strand has used some peculiar methodologies. It seems almost too pure. But there's no way the strand would be pure, they wouldn't survive well with a pure strand in today's conditions." Wu briefly looked up from the computer that was connected to the micro-scanner. 

“True, true. And from this dinosaur’s behavior, there’s no way it comes from a pure strand. Raptors are predators, designed by mother nature to kill. They are not like puppies, who like to sleep at the foot of the bed. Have you seen the videos from the park feeds? This raptor acts more like an over grown wolf-dog hybrid than a top of the food chain predator. The lady keeps the raptor in her house like a pet.” Stephan spoke animatedly, leaning off the wall momentarily. 

“Interesting…” Wu answered without looking up. He was focused on the data on the screen. Stephan took this as a hint to leave. With a short nod, he pulled himself off the wall, and made his way out of the office.

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“That was cool. Scary, but cool.” Owen watched as Blue joined the other girls back in the paddock. The raptors circled around each other, sniffing and wuffling.

“Insane. Insane is the word you are looking for.” Barry smiled, shaking his head as he spoke.

“Maybe I could try working with them differently? Blue seems calmer, I could start with her. If I can better figure out how this connection works…” Owen turned briefly to Barry before turning back to the raptors.

“By doing what? Trying to get eaten? They are predators. Intelligent predators. That connection isn’t going to stop them from moving. They are fast. Very fast.” Barry followed Owen as he walked across the catwalk.

“Yes. But they are intelligent. We are supposed to be studying how intelligent they are. If I can get Blue to trust me enough to behave, we might have a decent chance to stop them from using the raptors as war tools. We can find out how intelligent they truly are. If they have no interest in hunting humans, they won’t be a useful war tool. Maybe we can get them some kind of rights protection.” Owen looked back down at the raptors, who were now basking in the evening sun.

“Or they’ll find another way to use them. Or you’ll end up dead when they decide not to play along.No matter how smart they are, they don’t know a thing about human culture. About human laws.” Barry frowned and folded his arms. He wasn’t liking where this was going, but he wasn’t going to abandon his friend either. Owen shrugged as he walked down the stairs.

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“You’ll be surprised to know, this may just work out in your favor. They’ve done something that makes them very susceptible to human influence. I won’t bore you with the details. But who ever worked on this dna strand has found some uniquely fitting pieces. You just might be able to get your project up and running.” Wu held the phone against his shoulder as he continued typing on his computer. There was still more to unravel. The strands looked clean cut on the outside, at first glance, but further splicing, showed a lot more detail.

“I don’t know that yet. It’s not like they would leave their signature in plain sight. But it is decode-able. Shouldn’t be much longer. It seems like they didn’t care to fully hide what they where doing beyond the outer layer.” Wu frowned for a moment, before smiling.

“Ah, well, I’ve got to go. There is still more to do.” Wu spoken into the phone before hanging up. An idea crossed his mind. One he hadn’t thought of before. One that could help fill in a few…gaps.

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Kasumi paced around the paddock. Although the walls were tall, the grounds themselves were small. It took her less than a couple minutes to make a full walk around the paddock.She was not pleased by the small space. It had bothered her before, but now it was near unbearably irritating. Now that she knew others were allowed to walk free. She watched as a woman in white walked into view of the big box along the wall. A man was following not far behind her. Kasumi had seen the female soft prey before, the male was new. Listening as she silently watched, Kasumi could hear questions being asked. From what she could grasp, the soft prey were questioning the cage she lived in. Stepping forward she let out a roar. Telling them the place was unsuitable for herself. When neither responded, she shook her massive head and walked away. More that did not care. They never listened to her. If they would not listen, she would show them. The two inside continued to talk.

“There is a navy man here working on a side project by the name of Owen Grady. Have him come look this paddock over. Maybe he will see something that we don’t.” Mr. Masrani turned to Claire as he spoke.

“I know who he is. I don’t know what else he could see…” Claire shrugged. The two made their way out of the large viewing area.

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Soft soapy bubbles rolled slowly to the shower floor as the hot water washed over Darla. The bathroom was warm and steamy - it hadn’t taken long for the water to heat up nicely. It had been short, but interesting day. She had just finished video chatting with her family and was getting ready to settle in for the evening. There was only six hours left of park time, and she did want to get out and see some more of the park. It was then, during a moment of zoning out, that a long scaly snout poked through the shower curtain.

“Aaak! RUFUS!” Darla yelped, jumping back away from the open edge of the shower. The raptor’s head tilted and looked toward Darla.

-Bored. What doing?- Rufus dipped his snout under the running water. 

“Taking a shower. Like I’ve done a million times before. Now, shoo! Out! This isn’t a group thing!” Darla folded her arms across her chest and made a waving off motion with her hand.

-Why? It is nice. Warm. Wet. I want shower.- Rufus leaned further into the shower.

“Rufus! There isn’t enough room. You can have it when I’m done. I’m not done yet.” Darla shook her head and turned back to the running water. She was going to have to make this quick or she’d be jumping out half done. They both weren’t fitting in there, and she didn’t feel like being squished into a corner…naked.

-Taking too long. I will help.- Rufus turned his snout to Darla and licked her back. With a yelp Darla jumped again, turning slightly to face Rufus. He wuffled before licking her stomach. 

“I’m good. I can shower just fine on my own. Thanks. I’ll be out in a minute. Wait over there!!!” Darla backed up a bit more and grabbed the shower head down, waving at Rufus as she spoke. Rufus wuffled before backing up a bit; just enough to give Darla room to move around the shower. With a sigh she put back the shower head and resumed her shower. This raptor really wouldn't leave her alone. Occasionally Rufus would bark or wuffle, causing Darla to jump. What ever had gotten into Rufus was going to drive her mad. Normally he'd give her some space, but tonight he was all in her space, uncomfortably so. And he was more touchy feely than usual. Being out and about with him later was going to be stuffy. He followed her into her room and stood as close as he could. 

"Really? I kind of need a tad bit more space. I love you, but this is a bit much." Darla sighed as she searched through a drawer. He wasn't chatty now, but curiosity and focus seemed to be front most emotions that she could read from him. It wasn't until she found herself uncomfortably pinned to the floor by the raptor that she realized how dangerous that combination of emotions was. 

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"This makes no sense. I was just here, she has to be in there. Why isn't the thermal reader picking her up?" Claire jabbed the controls on the digital pad in frustration. It was picking up nothing. 

The Indominus Rex watched from her camouflaged position as the heat signature given off by the two soft prey changed from calm to panicked. So far things were working as planned. If they panicked enough, someone was bound to open the door. Someone would have to come in and look for her. She would ready. Hiding in plain sight, she stood still, and watched silently.

"Uh, how long have those been there?" Owen pointed to long claw marks that reached very close to the top of the paddock. Claire shook her head. Kasumi watched, as they became more alarmed. If she could have smiled, she would have. Every thing was falling into place. What should she go see first? There were so many different smells, so there must be a lot to see. Perhaps she could find Kind Voice? 

"You don't think she got out? She couldn't have gotten out. I can track her from the control room, she had an implant." She turned quickly and made her way to the door. By the time she had reached her car, she had the control room on the phone, issuing a tracking order and a safety order. 

Owen and the guard made their way down to the paddock door to further inspect the markings. Inside seemed devoid of any dinosaur. With several glances around, neither saw the perfectly camouflaged dinosaur staring directly at them. 

It was the sight of the large round soft pretty that irritated her. Like a snapping branch under too much weight, anger washed over her. He was one of many that outwardly ignored her and her sister's needs. He refused to come find and help her sister, he was late with feeding them, usually eating his own food first front of them. Her temper had always been bad, something she had little control over. Right now all her brain wanted was the bad man dead.

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To be continued....

 

 

 


	11. Out of Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *sorry for the long delay, been spending more time outside now that the weather is nice with my family. Still have more chapters to come.*
> 
> Break out. Delicious snacks. A twist.

**Chapter 11 Out of Control**

"What do you mean they aren't in the U.S.? You've been told more than once to keep tabs on their movement! It is crucial to the study. How am I supposed to document the changes of they aren't where I can see them? If you want to keep your job, you better find them. Now." A sharp woman's voice angrily yelled through the phone.

The man on the other end winced as he waited for her to hang up. Oh, he knew where they were, but he wasn't willing to be the one to report it. He needed this job. She would be livid if she knew. Let some other poor shmuc get fired today.

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With rage in crontrol, the Indominus Rex quickly munched the first soft prey within grasp. It was only seconds later that she was in full chase of the other two. Today she would be free. Today she would show the rest of the world her power. The door's gears grind noisily as she pushed her full weight against them. Nothing was going to hold her back. She would no long live as a captive.

Quick work is made of the door as it crumpled back into the open position. She sniffed the air loudly, and with a mighty roar she announces her presence. Still fueled by her anger, she looked around before following a very distinct sent of fear. She finds the plump soft prey sitting plainly in open sight behind a large metal object. In a mere moment he disappears in flash of angry teeth.

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Darla let out a short breath as she felt Rufus's weight leave. He had only been there a short time, but it felt like an eternity. The situation as a whole was awkward and mildly embarrassing. This would remain between the two. She knew he was getting older, but she really didn't think he would try something like that. Definitely worse than getting randomly humped by a dog. With a shake of her head Darla sat up. It took her a moment before she continued to gather her things and finish getting ready. Rufus had fully left the room by the time she was done.

"Hey you ready to go?" Darla peered into the living area and waved her hand at Rufus. He managed to sit himself between the small couch and the low coffee table. His head was tiled, possibly looking out the window, peering between the blinds. For a moment he seemed not to notice her.

-Always ready.- He shook his head as he looked back to Darla from across the room.

"You don't seem to be ready." Darla smiled as she walked toward him, stopping short enough to give him space to stand.

-Is strange. Something is wrong.- Rufus motioned his snout toward the window as he slowly stood up.

"What do you mean?" Darla frowned as she walked around him toward the window. -Do you not feel it? Panic. We are surrounded by panic.- Rufus exhaled slowly and watched as Darla opened the blinds fully.

"What the hell is going on?" Darla watched as large crowd of people moved slowly through the walk ways. It was like all the guests were being cooped up here. She closed the blinds and turn towards the door.

-Panic and....anger. Should stay inside.- Rufus reached out carefully, letting his claws lightly catch on Darla's clothes.

"But we need to find out what's going on. It can't be good. Someone might need help." Darla looked back at Rufus with a slight pout.

The raptor shook his snout and followed her, leaving his clawed lightly entangled in her dress shirt. With that the two made there way out into the over crowded path. No one had a definitive answer. Several people were spooked by the raptor following her. The best answer they got was that everyone was told to head to this part of the park due to an outage. Quietly and quickly the pair make their way to the outer gates. They'd have to see this for themselves.

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The room was tense as everyone one had their eyes glued to the large screen TV. Barely a head turned as Owen burst into the control room. They watched as armored men walked through the forest with non lethal weapons, quickly approaching the tracking beacon.

"What the hell happened out there?" Owen exclaimed motioning with his hands.

"It had to have been a technical malfunction. ACU will handle it." Claire replied, still watching the screen.

"Non leathal? You're going after her with non leathal? Those men are all going to die! You need to call this off!" Owen yelled as he turned to face Claire.

"You are not in control here." Her stance tensed as she focused on the main screen.

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The large dinosaur stood still, blending effortlessly within the tree line. How foolish those small soft preys were. They couldn't sense her, they couldn't see her, and they were completely defenseless. Such sad stupid creatures. They really weren't worth the effort, they couldn't fight her off anyway, but it was just so much fun. The anger had yielded to a sick sense of humor and a twisted game of hide and seek.

It was funny to watch them scream and run once they realized she was there. Such a simple action with such delightful results. Why hasn't she tried this sooner? Perhaps if she did, her sibling would still be alive. With that thought, her anger returns, easily over running her sensibility.

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And there it was, a simple yet easily overlooked gnome that could very well be the game changer. Wu smiled as he made notes in a separate file. He had spotted several major differences in the DNA coding and splicing styles. But alone they made no difference, so it seemed odd, doable, but odd. Having such a small presence seemed like a waste. Now with this little gem unveiled, the patterns made sense.

The only issue would be that the subject's gender would be fully influenced by the main human donor. It wouldn't be as easy to hide. By the looks of it, this particular dinosaur had multiple human donors. Which could explain it's peculiar behavior. It would explain why some strands stood out more than others. Each animal part was mildly augmented with tiny parts of human DNA. Without this little extra bit, the minor enhancements would not show up in a functional manner. It would simply be overlooked as a signature, rather than a fully functional sequence.

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Darla clung tightly to Rufus as he ran along the windy path. It wasn't the most comfortable way to travel, but it was the fastest way through the wooded areas.

-Feeling troubled, why?- Rufus huffed as he gracefully leapt over a downed log. Darla shifted her weight a bit after the landing, better centering herself. The long bag on her back made it difficult to stay in the right position.

"Just worried. Worried that I'm hurting you." She replied, shifting her weight again. Rufus wuffled lowly, slowing his pace momentarily and glanced back at her.

-Is not. Would have shook you off by now.- Picking up speed, he continued running. Darla smiled. Sarcasm. Of all the things he would pick up on, it would be sarcasm.

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"In an emergency situation you can use live ammunition. You have an m-134 in your armory, put it on a copper and smoke that thing!" Owen exclaimed looking back between Claire and Masrani.

Claire opened her mouth to speak before something caught her eye on the screen. She really wanted to tell Owen to leave if he wasn't going to actually be helpful. But the sight of the entertainer riding on raptor zipping into view on the screen caused her to stop mid thought.

"What the...who is that?" Mazrani looked over to Claire as he motioned to the screen.

"That's...that's the entertainer we hired. I don't know what she is doing out there." Claire frowned as the words seemed to take too long to come out.

"This is going to be interesting." Lowery half smiled.

"What do you mean, interesting?" Masrani glanced at Lowery. Darla had hopped down off the raptor and was opening the case she had with her.

"You don't think she's going to-" Owen started to ask, but before the full sentence could be finished, Darla had gotten her instrument out and was already starting to play.

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"Delusional, I believe I can cure it all for you, dear..." Darla began to sing while she played her keyboard guitar. Rufus walked close by her as they headed toward Kasumi. The large dinosaur slowly turned toward them. Her head tiled slightly as she took a few heavy steps forward.

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"Is she crazy? They are going to get eaten." Masrani's eyes widened as he watched the monstrous dinosaur slowly stop in front of the small pair. She lowered her head, snout just above their bodies. The people in the room winced, waiting for a horrible crunch sound.

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"Coax or trick or drive or, drag the demons from you, Make it right for you sleeping beauty..." Darla focused her gaze upon Kasumi, never wavering as she sung and played her instrument. Rufus gave a low bark and pushed himself against Darla.

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The crunch sound failed to come, and for a solid moment the room sat quiet in awe. Lowery brought up a smaller video in the coner of the screen. It played the time when Darla and Rufus climbed into the Indominus Rex's enclosure.

"I don't know what she is going to do once she has the dinosaur's attention, but, um, it should be interesting." Lowery stated quietly.

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"Truly thought, I can magically heal you...You're far beyond a visible sign of your awakening, Failing miserably to rescue, Sleeping Beauty..." Darla continued as she smiled up at Kasumi. The large dinosaur had tilted her head and was now staring down at the two. A low rumble escaped her jaws before she tilted her head the other way.

"Drunk on ego, Truly thought I could make it right, If I kissed you one more time to, Help you face the nightmare, But you're far too poisoned for me, Such a fool to think that I can wake you from your slumber, That I could actually heal you...Sleeping Beauty..." Rufus started making his own sounds to the song as Darla continued to sing and play. The large dinosaur sighed noisily before stepping back and lowering herself comfortably to the ground.

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"If the dinosaur goes to sleep, we can tranq her. Get her back to her enclosure and get that door fixed." Masrani motioned to the screen, still watching on partial disbelief.

"Get someone on that. Now." Claire seconded the motion, glancing briefly over at Vivian. The woman wasted no time getting the orders out. Own shook his head, not believing what he was seeing. The dinosaur had simply stopped and was seemingly going to sleep. Who would have thought that music could do that. 

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"Poisoned and hopeless, You're far beyond a visible sign of your awakening, Failing miserably to find a way to comfort you, Far beyond a visible sign of your awakening, And hiding from some poisoned memory, Poisoned and hopeless...Sleeping Beauty..." Darla watched, singing and playing, swaying slowly to the music. Rufus continued his soft chatter. Kasumi yawned, letting her jaws smack loudly together. As the music slowed, the large dinosaur's eyes closed. With a final sigh Kasumi was asleep. Darla kept playing soft music on her instrument, repeating the song's melody with out singing.


	12. Moving Foward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So many questions, will there ever be answers? We shall never know.

Chapter 12

Moving Forward

The room was buzzing with chatter. Four people sat around a long table set in the center of the small office. The sun had long disappeared behind the thick dark gray clouds that rolled slowly across the sky. The conversation had been going on for a while. There was a lot of explaining to be done, but too much to be said. The adrenalin was still high, still feeding off the past moments of excitement. They had managed to get a smaller team out to tranquilize the Indominus Rex while she slept. The ease of the task almost negated the actual need to tranquilize her at all.

"How did you get her to sleep? How did you even know it was going to work?" Masrani asked Darla with a puzzled look on his face. Masrani had a little bit of knowledge of “special connections” as per the Intelligence Project, but he had never seen such a strong reaction. Both Owen and Claire looked over as well. Owen understood how she could communicate with the large dinosaur, but he hadn't expected it to go well. Such control seemed more than simple communication. Claire was simply confused, nothing was to be adding up. She had seen people who were good with handling animals, but this was beyond simple handling. Regardless, everyone expected Darla and Rufus to get eaten.

"It's...um...it's something of a specialty of mine. Kind of hard to explain really. Some animals react in peculiar manners to certain musical tones. Sound plays a key part it in all. And I did play music for her before, she showed interest and there were some songs that seemed to ease her to sleep." Darla replied with a nervous smile. The answer was much more complicated and something she wasn't really willing to explain. She glanced at the windowed door, catching Rufus's gaze momentarily. She could tell he was bored. He wanted to explore. Such a curious creature had no desire to sit still and wait. Yet out of simple respect he waited. She caught him yawning before she looked away.

"So your music has some kind of calming effect? Is that what makes working with your raptor easier?" Claire rested her head on her hand as she tilted her head. __It really didn’t add up. Something wasn’t quite right here. It couldn’t be just the sound alone. Even Owen had to spend  all the raptors’ lives teaching them commands - how could less than a day’s worth of time have that kind of effect?__ She’d have to ask later, as it seemed as though the woman wasn’t going to give any specifics here.

"In a way it does. But he was raised differently than how the dinosaurs here are raised. He was raised like a human child would be. Instead of a raptor pack, he has a human pack. Not that it makes him any less dangerous, he is just more aware of how our rules work. Thanks to mutual trust and respect, he is willing to oblige to our rules." Happy to change the subject, Darla explains a little bit about Rufus. It’s always been fun to explain, yet tricky. She didn’t want to explain in a way that made it seem like he was a tame house pet, but she didn’t want him to seem like a rabid monster either.

"Yes. He is still a large scaled creature with sharp teeth, deadly speed and claws. Even having my girls imprint on me, as well as having them grow up in my place, they are still very dangerous." Owen chimed in. He knew too well how easy it was for instinct to step up and ruin everything. Claire glanced over at Owen, trying to read where he was going.

"It doesn't make what you did any less dangerous. That very easily could have ended with your death. I'm still trying to understand why you would even try that?" Claire leaned back in her chair and looked over at Darla. Something was odd about this woman. She couldn't quite place it, but something was off.

"I had to help...I...didn't want anyone else to get hurt." Darla looked away and folded her hands on the table. She really didn’t want anyone to get hurt, and she didn’t want Kasumi to loose herself. Even if she had rage issues, she was still a live beating heart with a soul. There was intelligence in there.

"I know you are scheduled to leave soon, but I would like you to return as soon as possible. I believe I've got a better use for your skills." Masrani motioned to Darla.

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It had been nearly a week. They had kept the large dinosaur under sedation while the construction crew worked non stop on the new perimeter fence. The new paddock basically enclosed around the old one, leaving only the side with the human entrance sticking out. They had added an extended triple door outer cage entrance, similar to the one used on the raptor paddock. This outer entrance had two inner doors before the final exit door, dividing the outer cage into thirds. The outer cage was also electrified. This would be only way in and out. There would be no escaping this new design.The interior was redesigned and there was a new viewing area. They had added a few long, low, short windows along the base of the newer paddock with heavy duty bars between the specialized glass. This allowed people to peek in from ground level before heading up into the full viewing area.

Warm rain rolled down her large head. The rest of her body was surprisingly dry. Groggy and sore, Kasumi slowly raised her head. __How long had I been asleep? Where am I? This wasn't where I fell asleep.__  Blinking she allowed her eyes to take in her surroundings. It looked as though she was back in her paddock, but the door was wide open. Tilting her head, she saw that part of top had been covered, making half the paddock more like a cave. That would explain the odd wet dry situation. With an exaggerated push, Kasumi lifted herself up and began her patrol. __Back in the cage again. Captive again. Why must I live like this?__

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In a dark room room, the only real light came from a dimly lit computer monitor. Tiny dull flashing lights blipped and bleeped rapidly over the computer base's surface. The person sitting in front of the computer was barely visible in the dim light. Text scrolled across the screen in a very tiny font as firm plump hands typed quickly at the keys.

"It seems as fast as they vanished from the radar, they are back. They are scheduled for pickup as soon as they land."

"Good. We need to begin phase two. Have you completed the presets? If the inevitable has yet to happen, then you will need the presets to move forward.” Almost immediately the response appeared on screen.

“All presets are ready to go, as well as loaded blanks for the other possibility. I just need to make one last adjustment for a third option, should either be non-viable.”

“Well then, back to work with you. Send word when they are in custody. We must move this along quickly before anyone else gets wind of this.” Again the words scrolled quickly onto the screen in response.

The screens changed, as one window closed and a new one opened. Fast round fingers typed up information into a log on screen, the sharp sound of clicking echoed in the dark room. Slowly a series of folders and files loaded across the screen. The machine whirred as the files were dragged into particular folders and the folders where dragged into one large folder. A swirling globe spun as information moved along.

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Darla pushed against Rufus as she tried to get him up the dock and onto the ship. He was not thrilled and she was tired. He just about fought her every step of the way up the ramp. It had a been a long night, the power had gone out for a long enough time that the heat in the little townhouse was nearly unbearable. Neither got much sleep. Once the power came back on, it was about time to get up anyway. Thankfully they were allowed to board earlier than the regular guests.

“It will be fine. Let’s  just get to our seats.” Darla patted Rufus’s side as he slowly followed her onto the ship’s deck. The slight rocking motion of the boat made him very uneasy. They weren’t leaving on one of those big fancy boats. It was much smaller and mainly comprised of basic seating and a few small cargo rooms.

-Is not fine. Moves too much.- Rufus wuffled. He stood holding himself low, trying match the boat’s swaying. It didn’t feel like much to Darla, but it was enough to bother Rufus and slightly throw off his sense of balance. If she had the energy she’d laugh at him.

“Come on, let’s go. It’ll be better once we sit down.” Darla spoke as she moved forward. He pressed his snout against her back and followed behind her. Constant reassurance was the only way to keep the raptor moving.

Thanks to Rufus, they were able to get a small private room. It was just big enough for Rufus to curl up and rest his head on Darla’s lap. He let out a small huff and tilted his head to look up at Darla. She rubbed his neck. __How many rides would they have to take before he would get used to this?__

“Bet you everyone’s going to be happy to see us when we get home!” Darla smiled. She wanted to think of anything besides a possibly sea-sick raptor. And she really did miss her family. They had spent a good two weeks out this time and they would be returning earlier than usually.

-Happy to see me. Of course. Who would not be?- Rufus rumbled as he lifted his head briefly.

“Oh I see how it is…Well then, you can cook and clean for everyone then.” Darla leaned back against the chair and playfully pushed Rufus’s head away.

It wasn’t long until more people began boarding, and the boat became alive with chatter. Even in the small room, they could hear the conversations as people passed by the door. For a small ship, it took a while for the boarding to finish. Eventually the chatter quieted and the boat began to move. Once fully into the ocean, the boat’s rocking increased, causing Rufus to wuffle in complaint at any large movement.

“Don’t get sea sick on me…” Darla patted the side of Rufus’s snout. He huffed out hot air.

-Not sick. Simply too wavy.- Rufus growled as he lifted his head and looked at the wall opposite of the door, as if he could see the ocean on the other side. __Such obnoxious contraptions softlings make. If they are so smart, why do they not make something that does not rock and bounce everywhere it goes?__

“Wavy makes some people sick.” Darla responded. The raptor tilted his head to the side and blinked. __He knew that. He also knew that he would not get sick.__

-Are we riding the metal bird later?- Rufus asked with a loud huff, half expecting the response that came.

“The plane? Yes, it’s the fasted way home once we land.” Darla replied with a smile, earning a grumpy chuffle of disapproval from Rufus. He was not sure which he liked less. Both made him nervous. Both took him into elements that he was not comfortable with. He could not fly if he fell, and open water was hardwired as dangerous in his mind. It was hard to explain why, even after being told it was safe to travel this way, that he still did not trust it.

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Owen had the lucky opportunity of accompanying Claire and Masrani on an inspection of the new paddock. While Masrani wanted Owen there to help with the inspection, Claire needed to speak with Owen after the meeting. The three stood in the new observatory room high above the paddock. It was high enough to be out of reach, but still close enough to see the large dinosaur.

“So the Indominus has awoken? How is she doing? How is the paddock holding up?” Masrani asked as they walked along the window’s edge.

“She seems to be doing fine. With the door from the old paddock functioning, we can send workers in to clean and feed without fear of being eaten. And the new entry way allows her to see out, so she isn’t just seeing walls.” Claire replied, looking out into the paddock. She caught a quick glimpse of movement between the tree line before looking back to the group.

“Owen, what do you see in the paddock?” Masrani looked over to Owen while motioning with his head toward the window. He needed to know if this one would be better and if improvements needed to be made.

“It is an improvement from the last one. The lower viewing windows are an interesting touch. And the fact that actual people can go in and maintain the paddock is a great improvement. We can’t do much in ways of her being alone. Hopefully she can get some enrichment in seeing people. We still need some kind of enrichment to keep her busy while she’s in here. Otherwise with the added height and safety measures, this paddock is more secure than the last.” Owen commented. She would need something besides space to keep busy. She is intelligent and enrichment is important.

“We will need to look into some form of enrichment then. Are we talking large puzzles? Scratchers and teethers?” Masrani looked over at Owen before nodding to Claire. Claire took out her phone and typed in a few things.

“A little of each, I don’t know exactly what she’d like.” Owen replied.

 

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Upon exiting the plane, the found a large black van waiting for them. Darla sighed as they walked slowly toward it. She knew this day would come along eventually. She still had a contract to complete. Rufus eyed the vehicle suspiciously and pushed himself closer to Darla. She placed a hand on his side. As they approached, a tinted window rolled down slowly, and a man with a dark hat that hid the details of his face, nodded at them. Slowly a side door opened, revealing a dimly lit cargo area with seats along the sides. With a sigh, Darla climbed in with Rufus at her heels. He followed closely as she sat down and buckled herself in. The drive was silent, aside from the occasional huff from Rufus. Darla quietly sent a message to James.

The building was large, but unassuming, looking more like a large apartment complex than an actual headquarters. The vehicle road around the back following the driveway’s curve. Once behind the building, the van drove down into an underground garage. They stopped and were let out close by an elevator. Two men stepped out from the elevator and escorted them in. The van drove off to park somewhere out of sight.

The ride was silent, aside from the raptor’s heavy breath. Again he found himself in anther tiny metal box. He hated tiny metal boxes. He wuffled and looked at Darla. She patted his side in silence as they waited for the door to open. With a loud ding, the door opened, one man stepped forward and waited for them to step out. Once they stepped out the other man followed behind. The walk was slow and quiet, minus the clicking of the raptor’s claws on the steel flooring and the thump of heavy shoes.

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“Thank you for showing up on such short notice.” Claire smiled as she let Owen into her office. He nodded and made his way to a seat.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Owen asked as Claire sat in her chair.

“Well, I can’t be the only one who thought it odd. The whole thing really.” Claire started to explain, looking at Owen across the desk.

“It was very strange. Her bond with her raptor is explainable, but how she was able to sooth the Indominus Rex…I don’t know. That’s a whole ‘nother thing. That’s whole new level of communication…” Owen sighed as he took a moment to think it over.

“Communication? She’s communicating with them?” Claire raised an eyebrow. There were so many projects going on, she had not been able to get full details on everything. Most projects were set as 'given on a need to know basis', with basic information to start, and details only in special situations. Other than the beginning bonding by being there, she didn't have any extra insight to how it all worked.

“In a way, yes. It’s normally a bond kind of thing, but she must have found another way. I really can’t explain it….other than a special kind of connection.” Owen smiled and leaned back in the chair.

“A special connection? Like how….twins have a special bond?” Claire responded even more confused.

“Kind of? That would be an understatement, but yeah, that’s close.” Owen replied.

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The room was cold and smelled too clean. The stainless steel shined, brighter than is should. The walls were a hard and uncaring gray. There was no place to sit in this room,so Darla leaned against a wall opposite of the main door. Rufus huffed and paced around the small room. There were a few shelves embedded in the back wall near another gray door. The shelves were behind a solid thick glass, holding various shaped bottles and vials. After a few moments, the rear door opened and a short older tan woman walked through holding a clipboard and a kit box. She looked up at Darla briefly before waving her to the door.

Darla smiled and nodded as she approached the rear door. Rufus wuffled and trotted up behind her. It slid open silently, allowing her entry. She walked in, followed closely by Rufus. The older woman stepped in. The second room had two long chairs and one double wide and long table.It seemed twice as gray and smelled cleaner than clean. Rufus lowered his head and pressed against Darla, this was not a pleasant seeming room, and he did not like it.

“I need you to sit here and take this.” The older woman passed her hand over one of the large chairs and then pulled a vile of liquid out of the kit box and held it out toward Darla. Darla quietly took a seat and the vile. She scooted back and looked over at Rufus before opening the vile. Taking a deep breath, she threw her head back and downed the flavorless liquid. Rufus hissed as he watched Darla lean back in the chair and pass out. The older woman waved her hand again and motioned to the large table in the room. Rufus growled before jumping up onto the table.

“There, this will be quick enough.” The older woman pulled out a long needle from the kit box before walking over to Rufus and injecting it into his scaly skin. In a matter of seconds, Rufus felt his whole body become heavy and tingly. Gracefully he lowered himself down as the room dimmed out to black.

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	13. Info Circles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry it's been forever. The move was crazy and getting settled in is still in progress. This one is really short, but it's interesting. Starting to get some plot in there, along with a little bit of background info. I'm also working on another story that I'll be posting soon. Hopefully have two going will help me get into a better writing rhythm.  
> Thanks for reading! Feel free to drop a comment.

**Chapter 13**

**Info Circles**

 

“You’ll be pleased to know that we’ve found some very interesting information from the blood samples taken…” Wu tilted his head as he spoke softly over the phone. He watched the information on the screen as more lines of text unfolded as the program re-organized the data.

 

“It seems as though someone has found a new way to integrate deeper layers of biological coding, allowing them to overlap in a more proficient manner.” He continued to explain with a smile on his face. He wouldn’t reveal the details, as it was all classified, but he was more than happy to give a simple explanation.

 

“To say the very least. You could get more defined desired traits with less of the counter to such attached undesirable traits. Someone was very busy…and for what seems, much longer then we have been. This would have taken twice, if not three times as long as we have with our current abilities.” He nodded to no one in particular, mostly out of habit. The computer had already begun the thirty second run through of data analyse.

 

“I don’t know, there isn’t much to go on. We’d need to find someone who has been working a long time…I don’t know…Hammond was the first to step forward with his discoveries. There really hasn’t been anyone in particular before him that went international about it.” The phone conversation continued.

 

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“How many were we able to extract?” A dark haired woman with a serious expression asked.

 

“Six. We will know if they will be successful in forty-eight hours.” A short, round man replied curtly.

 

“What’s the expected success rate?” The woman continued her questioning, watching as the man looked briefly over his paper work.

 

“About sixty-eight to seventy percent. The presence of multiple donors from one side make it more difficult to process.” He replied again with a shake of his head. The woman sighed.

 

“Call me as soon as you have the results. This may be the largest break through we’ve had yet.” She nodded at the man in white before turning to leave. To think, this was all thanks to one big mistake. One big mistake that could change the way the world worked again.

 

“Yes. There would also be a higher success rate if they were conscious. The live draw has always shown a better result in any testing…” He added before she left.

 

“You know we can’t. You do remember what happened last time? We can’t afford another destructive loss. We can’t explain it away.” She frowned before leaving.

 

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“As it stands there are only four other companies that are registered to use prehistoric restoration. Two are fauna based, one is aquatic based and the last is mammalian that also works with endangered species. We’ve bought up all the current patents on dinosaurs. There are two small sub-parks working with smaller dinosaur, but nothing aggressive. One is in Australia and the other is in China. Both we supply.” Claire reported to Masrani as they walked through the main office building.

 

“Well someone must be running something privately. There’s no way we’d miss this in one of our own sub-sets.” Masrani frowned as they stopped outside Claire’s office. The conversation paused before they entered and closed the door behind them.

 

“Well, there was another smaller company, but the quickly went under. There was a massive fire after a small localized earth quake. They lost everything and claimed bankruptcy. There hasn’t been a peep from them since. And that was almost five and a half years ago.” Claire continued on as they sat down. She pulled out several manila folders and slid them across the desk. Masrani took a moment to open each folder. Each one contained a small photo or two along with a brief manifesto.

 

“Those are the top geneticists in the other companies. There really isn’t a lot of public data on them, other than the basic sappy family stories and a few achievements. At a glance none really stand out. We lucked out in getting Wu. I don’t know these other people personally, but they don’t really have a comparable record with Wu. We’ve got the best of the best.” Claire explained as Masrani listened.

 

“Or so we think. Maybe someone was over looked. We’ll have to dig deeper and see. We can start with these here. I’ll send these over to our HR and see if they can dig anything up. If not, I know a guy who has some decent reach.” Masrani closed the folders.

 

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With a feeling of cold, she shivered as she yawned. Her eyes were still heavy from the knock out. It always hit hard. It had to. Groggily looking around, she found herself situated in another overly clean room. This time she was at least propped comfortably in a hospital bed. Slowly moving her arm, she could feel the tug of an IV. Again, they had drawn blood and again she did not want to know what for. She didn’t want to know. The less she knew, the less it would bother her. It was something she couldn’t afford to be bothered with. It didn’t take long for her to spot Rufus curled up in the corner on what looked like an oversized dog bed. She yawned before closing her eyes again. It would be nice to get some sleep. They’d let her know when she could leave. They would have already sent word to her family about some kind of delay and that she’d be home soon.

 

 


End file.
